Pakistan and Afghanistan Border Closure Extends Into Second Day After Deadly Clashes
PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Border crossings used for trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan have remained closed for a second day after deadly clashes over the weekend left hundreds stranded, according to officials.
The violence began Saturday night when Afghan forces attacked several Pakistani military posts. Afghan authorities claimed they killed 58 Pakistani soldiers, stating the strikes were in response to repeated violations of Afghan territory and airspace. In contrast, Pakistan’s military reported losing 23 soldiers and said that more than 200 “Taliban and affiliated terrorists” were killed during retaliatory fire along the border.
International pressure, including appeals from Saudi Arabia, called for restraint. A ceasefire appears to be in place, with no further exchanges reported since Sunday along the 2,611‐kilometer border known as the Durand Line—a boundary that Afghanistan has never officially recognized. At this time, it is unclear when the crossings might reopen.
Although the southwestern Chaman crossing remains closed for trade, authorities have allowed approximately 1,500 Afghan nationals stranded there since Sunday to return home on foot, according to a government officer.
Meanwhile, a major northwestern crossing at Torkham in Pakistan continues to be closed to all travel and trade. Local traders confirmed the closure, and Afghan refugees—many of whom have been waiting at Torkham since Sunday amid a crackdown on foreigners—said they have had little choice but to seek refuge in nearby areas or return to Peshawar. One refugee explained that hundreds have already left the area and that he plans to wait in Peshawar until the crossing reopens.
Tensions have been high since last week after Afghanistan’s Taliban government accused Pakistan of carrying out airstrikes in Kabul and at an eastern market, an allegation Pakistan did not acknowledge. Islamabad has previously launched strikes inside Afghanistan targeting what it describes as militant hideouts. The ongoing dispute centers on Pakistan’s long-standing claim that Kabul shelters members of the banned Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, a charge that Afghanistan denies, asserting its territory is not used against other nations.
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