Clash at Pakistan-Afghanistan Border Leaves Four Dead, Several Injured

KABUL/ISLAMABAD: Four civilians were killed and four others injured in an overnight exchange of fire at a major Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing, Afghan officials said Saturday. The clash comes months after deadly confrontations in October.

Abdul Karim Jahad, governor of Spin Boldak district in southern Afghanistan, confirmed the casualties to AFP. Meanwhile, the local hospital in Chaman, Pakistan, reported that three people with minor injuries had been discharged following the incident.

Both sides accused each other of launching “unprovoked” attacks at the crossing connecting Chaman in Pakistan with Spin Boldak in Afghanistan, despite a truce reached after the October clashes.
“Unfortunately, tonight, the Pakistani side started attacking Afghanistan in Kandahar’s Spin Boldak district, and our forces were forced to respond,” Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on social media platform X late Friday.

Pakistan’s government also blamed the Afghan side. “A short while ago, the Afghan Taliban regime resorted to unprovoked firing along the border,” said Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesperson for Pakistan’s prime minister. “Our armed forces gave an immediate and strong response.”
Residents on the Afghan side said the fighting began around 10:30 p.m. local time and lasted about two hours. Ali Mohammed Haqmal, head of Kandahar’s information department, said Pakistani forces used “light and heavy artillery,” and some mortar fire hit civilian homes.

The incident highlights ongoing tensions along the volatile Pakistan-Afghanistan border, despite previous efforts to maintain peace.