Afghanistan–Pakistan Clashes (2024–present)

The 2024 Afghanistan–Pakistan clashes are a series of ongoing armed clashes consisting of cross-border airstrikes and exchanges of gunfire between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The conflict also separately includes the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), and Pakistani Taliban. The skirmishes took place over many locations along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, including North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Wana, Dera Ismail Khan, Shangla, Khost, and Paktika. Subsequent attacks were also launched in Turbat and Gwadar in Balochistan province, by the Balochistan Liberation Army. Militant attacks on CPEC and Pakistani military bases accommodating US aircraft pose a threat to Chinese and American interests in Pakistan. After de-escalation in March 2024, the conflict resurged in December 2024 with Pakistani airstrikes against Afghanistan, specifically in Paktika Province.

Conflict in December marked the third round of air strikes by Pakistan on the territory of Afghanistan in a period less than two years. The first similar Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan soil came in 2022 and the second Pakistani airstrikes occurred in March 2024. The third and most latest round of Pakistani air strikes on Afghan soil came in December 2024.

Background

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is a militant group that was established in 2007 as a coalition of various hardline Sunni Islamist factions in Pakistan. This formation came in response to military actions against Al-Qaida-affiliated terrorists in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), an area in northwest Pakistan.

The group, led initially by Baitullah Mehsud, is primarily located along the border with Afghanistan and is estimated to have between 30,000 and 35,000 members. TTP aims to overthrow Pakistan's elected government to create an emirate governed by its interpretation of Islamic law. To achieve this goal, the TTP has attacked the Pakistani military and assassinated political figures. Their violent actions, including numerous suicide bombings, have resulted in the deaths of hundreds of military personnel, police, and civilians.

TTP has been responsible for some of the most devastating attacks in Pakistan, targeting churches, schools, and notable figures like Malala Yousafzai, who survived an assassination attempt in 2012 for advocating women's education against Taliban restrictions.

Following the Taliban's takeover in Afghanistan in 2021, TTP has become more aggressive, as its leaders and fighters are based in Afghanistan. After ending a cease-fire with the Pakistani government in late 2022, TTP has intensified its attacks, causing casualties among Pakistani soldiers and police.

While Pakistan has been accused of supporting the Afghan Taliban in the past, after the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Afghanistan and Pakistan have repeatedly broken out border conflicts. The Pakistani government accuses the Afghan Taliban authorities of harboring the Pakistani Taliban rebels in its growing insurgency.

March 2024

On 16 March 2024, militants detonated a truck bomb and fired at Pakistani soldiers at a border checkpost. Five Pakistani soldiers were killed in the truck bombing, and two more were killed in the firing. Six attackers were also killed, according to Pakistan Army, who stated that the attackers used Afghanistan as a base for the attack. A militant group known as Jaish-e-Fursan-e-Muhammad took responsibility for the attack; Pakistani officials believe the members to be part of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP). Afghanistan led by the Taliban denied that the perpetrators were from their territory. On 17 March 2024, President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari vowed strong retaliation against perpetrators of the attack.

PAF airstrikes

On 18 March 2024, in response to the attack from Afghanistan, Pakistan Air Force carried out two intelligence based airstrikes on Afghanistan's eastern border provinces of Khost and Paktika. The Afghan government claim that Pakistan killed five women and three children. Pakistan denies this, claiming that it killed terrorists instead while targeting the Hafiz Gul Bahadur militant group, a splinter organization of the Pakistani Taliban, and that it had successfully killed Sehra alias Janan, a high-value target commander. Another commander, Abdullah Mehsud, was claimed to have been killed, but later released a video refuting the claim. It was also reported that Mehsud's house was targeted in which his wife and a minor son was killed. Pakistan went on to blame the Pakistani Taliban and its splinter militias for the deaths of hundreds of Pakistani civilians, and claimed that they used Afghanistan as a base and that they had support from within the Taliban.

In response to the airstrikes, the Afghan Defense Ministry stated it was targeting numerous Pakistani positions across the border. Mortar firing from the Afghan side injured more than four civilians and three military personnel in Kurram District. A Pakistani captain was also killed and 2 other soldiers injured by the shelling. Taliban officials did not disclose their losses, however, the local Afghans reported the death of a soldier of the Afghan army in the clashes. Skirmishes were also reported in the hilly areas surrounding the Angoor Adda border crossing of South Waziristan but no casualties were reported . It was also reported that in the areas around Wanna, the artillery munitions struck close to the bunkers on both sides of the border but no casualties were reported.

Subsequent attacks

On March 20, separatist militants belonging to Balochistan Liberation Army attacked the Gwadar port complex. The attack failed due to the rapid response of the Pakistani security forces. The clash killed eight BLA militants and two Pakistani soldiers. The Chief Minister of Balochistan claimed that the BLA attackers came from Afghanistan and were provided shelter by the Afghan government.

On 22 March, a suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into a military convoy passing through Dera Ismail Khan; this attack resulted in the death of two Pakistani soldiers and wounding of 15 others. In response to this attack Pakistan vowed a strong retaliation against terrorism.

On 25 March, Balochistan Liberation Army's Majeed Brigade attacked Pakistan's second largest Naval Base PNS Siddique in Turbat which houses American as well as Chinese aircraft. This attack was foiled by Pakistani Security forces. In this attack, 6 BLA militants were killed by the Frontier Corps outside the perimeter of the base while one Pakistani soldier was killed.

On 26 March 2024, in Shangla District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, a suicide bomber attacked a bus transporting five Chinese laborers and their Pakistani driver on their way to the Dasu Dam, killing all of them. Pakistan police detained more than 12 people, including some Afghan nationals. But the Taliban government in Afghanistan has repeatedly denied giving safe haven to militants.

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in an interview to BBC Urdu stated that, "It’s correct that we have been carrying out operations in Afghanistan, and we will continue to do so. We won’t serve them with cake and pastries. If attacked, we’ll attack back."

September 2024

On 7 September 2024, the Taliban border guards of Afghanistan clashed with Frontier Corps of Pakistan. The conflict erupted at the Kurram district bordering Khost province of Afghanistan. The skirmish reportedly broke out when Taliban forces attempted to construct a security outpost on the Afghan side of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border barrier, prompting Pakistani troops to open fire to force the other side to stop the activity. Heavy clashes had injured at least five Pakistani soldiers, including an officer while in Pakistan's retaliation at least eight Afghan Taliban fighters were killed including two Taliban Army commanders and 16 others injured in the early hours of 7 September. One soviet-era T-62 tank operated by Afghan Taliban was destroyed by the Pakistani forces.

December 2024

On 21 December, at least 16 soldiers are killed in an attack by the Pakistani Taliban on an outpost in South Waziristan, eight insurgents were also killed in the clash.

On 25 December 2024, the Pakistan Air Force launched precision airstrikes in response to the 21 December attack, on seven locations located across four villages of Barmal District of Afghanistan Paktika province initially claiming to have killing 20-25 terrorists. The villages targeted by PAF included Laman, Margha, and Murg Bazaar. Reports indicate that the Murg Bazaar village in Barmal was completely destroyed. The airstrikes took four High Value Targets(HVTs) that included terrorists camps and hideouts of key commanders, these included the compound of senior ranking Commander of TTP, Sher Zaman alias Mukhlis Yar's hideout, the Commander Abu Hamza's recruitment camp and Akhtar Muhammad alias Khalil suicide bombers" training camp. All of these commanders were using camps for recruitment and training young child suicide bombers and terrorists. The fourth target struck by PAF was the "Umar Media" centre of TTP, being headed by the TTP's commander Shoaib Iqbal alias Muneeb Jatt, from where the TTP propagated its digital propaganda. Afghan Taliban's Defence Ministry, the Afghan Taliban regime official spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid confirmed reports of the strike carried out by Pakistani forces, but claimed that the dead and injured included a number of children and other civilians.Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid confirmed reports of the strikes carried out by Pakistani forces but claimed that the dead and injured included a number of children and other civilians; it said that 46 people had been killed, most of whom were children and women, and 6 more people were wounded, mostly children. The PAF's strikes mark third instance of Pakistan launching attack on Afghan soil since the fall of Kabul. The Pakistan airstrikes coincided with the birthday of Pakistan's founder. The Afghan Government reported that 46 people had been killed and 6 wounded, with the casualties including children. Five women and children were confirmed casualties as a result of the airstrikes. Afghanistan's foreign office called in Pakistan's top diplomat in Kabul to hand over a formal complaint and cautioned the diplomat about the potential repercussions of such military actions. Enayatullah Khowrazmi, a spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense (Afghanistan) said that, "Afghanistan considers this brutal act a blatant violation of all international principles and an obvious act of aggression, The Islamic Emirate will not leave this cowardly act unanswered." Pakistani military sources have anonymously have admitted that airstrikes were carried out by Pakistan originating from inside Pakistani airspace, but later said that drone strikes were involved. This marks the third airstrike launched by Pakistan on Afghanistan since the fall of Kabul in 2021. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said that it had received credible reports of dozens of civilians killed, including women and children. Pakistan's foreign ministry did not directly comment on the strikes but said the armed forces conducted “operations in border areas to protect the people of Pakistan from terrorist groups” and further added, “These counterterrorism operations are carefully selected and based on accurate intelligence”.

On 26 December 2024, Afghan and Pakistani forces exchanged fire at the border between Dand Aw Patan and Kurram, with no casualties or damage initially reported by either side. On 27 December, Afghan and Pakistani border troops exchanged fire for several hours in Dand Aw Patan. Some civilian homes were damaged by Pakistani rockets. Two soldiers were killed and 11 were wounded in skirmishes in Bajaur District, heavy casualties were also reported amongst the insurgents.

On 28 December, fighting broke out again as the Afghan Defence Ministry claimed to have attacked "several points" across the border with Pakistan. A security source told AFP that one Pakistani paramilitary was killed and seven others wounded while seven to eight Taliban were reported to have been killed in retaliatory skirmishes. Pakistani security sources reported two incursions and that over 15 TTP militants and Afghan Taliban were killed, and that counter-fire forced the Afghan Taliban to abandon six posts, while three Pakistani soldiers were injured and none killed. TOLOnews reported that five were killed and three wounded by a Pakistani mortar shell. Pakistan security forces released videos purportedly showing several Afghan border posts being attacked by the Pakistani forces.

In the early hours of 29 December, militants launched a third infiltration attempt targeting a border military post in South Waziristan. The attack was repulsed, and at least 7 militants were killed. Also on 29 December, an explosion targeted the Taliban Ministry of Interior Affairs in Kabul, killing 10 Taliban fighters and wounding five more. The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan claimed responsibility, and said that a Taliban commander was killed and three military vehicles destroyed.At least 10 Taliban fighters killed in Kabul ministry attack as tensions with Pakistan escalate
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On 30 December 2024, 15,000 Taliban troops were deployed to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in response to the ongoing skirmishes. The force included multiple battalion level units armed with Soviet-era Tanks and Humvees left following the American withdrawal from Afghanistan.Afghan Taliban's attacks on Pakistan raise fears of all-out war
/ref> Afghan forces also claimed to have conducted Artillery strikes and reported skirmishes with Pakistan on 30 December. Pakistani Taliban released a video showing the capture of border post in Bajaur District on 30 December, the post was already vacated and Pakistani forces claimed that the troops were already transferred from that post to newer more fortified posts along the border.

On 31 December 2024, reports claimed that Pakistani military had entered Wakhan corridor and was preparing to seize the region, but the local Taliban sources denied Pakistani presence in the region.

January 2025

On 1 January 2025, an MPA of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, Anwar Zaib Khan, claimed that 400 militants from Afghanistan had captured fifteen border posts along the border in Bajaur District, raising the flags of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and began fortifying their newly acquired positions and that the local residents began fleeing the area expecting an imminent large scale operation by the Pakistan Armed Forces.

On 2 January 2025, Pakistan alleged that the Afghan Taliban government had demanded PKR 10 Billion for the removal and transfer of Pakistani Taliban and their forces away from the border regions, but the Afghan Government denied the allegation. Limited light skirmishes between the two sides continued.

On 3 January 2025, a projectile from Pakistan targeted a civilian area in Alisher area of Khost province, destroying a guest room connected to a house. Skirmishes between both sides at the border were reported by local sources. According to Afghan media, around 1:30 AM, Pakistani forces fired rockets at Taliban positions, and the Afghan army retaliated with heavy artillery. The situation reportedly calmed just before dawn. At least three villages in Afghanistan Airukam, Kaga, and Garab were reportedly hit by Pakistani mortar strikes. On the night of 3 January 2025, Afghan Taliban and Pakistani Taliban launched joint raids targeting Pakistani Border Posts, in the Spinwam Area of North Waziristan.

On 6 January 2025, an RPG fired by Afghan Taliban struck a football field in North Waziristan during an ongoing match, three players were wounded.

On 7 January 2025, 3 Pakistani soldiers and 19 insurgents were killed in raids conducted by the military in northwest areas bordering Afghanistan. On 7 January 2025, a mortar shell launched from Afghanistan struck Mohmand District in Pakistan, no casualties was reported.

On 9 January 2025, Pakistani attack helicopters struck Bajaur district in the areas where the border posts had been occupied by the TTP.An exchange of firing was reported between Pakistan and Afghanistan's border forces in Sarkano district of Kunar province in Eastern Afghanistan, corresponding to Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa earlier this morning. After the mortar shells landed hundreds of families left their homes, locals in Kunar told The Khorasan Diary. Reports had emerged of helicopter shelling in Bajaur's Salarzai area close to the border yesterday, but there was no official confirmation. The area has been in the thickets of violence after a video of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan appeared while hoisting their flag, which according to Pakistani officials was an abandoned post. There were no comments from Pakistan or Afghanistan on the recent firing on the border: Our Correspondents/Local Sources
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On 10 January 2025, Pakistani and Afghan forces skirmished in Sarkano district of Kunar province adjacent to Bajaur district with mortar shelling reported in residential areas prompting hundreds of civilians to vacate. An Afghan Taliban soldier was killed and two others severely were wounded when a Pakistani mortar hit an afghan bunker during these skirmishes and exchanges of fire. Pakistani forces also launched rockets in Kunar province, killing 10 livestock. The exchange included over 50 rounds of rockets and shells. On the Pakistani side, officials confirmed that mortars were fired into their territory, targeting adjacent districts of Mohmand and Bajaur. No loss of property or lives were reported on the Pakistani side.

On the night of 18-19 January 2025, Pakistani forces killed five Pakistani Taliban insurgents attempting to infiltrate Pakistan's Zhob District from Afghanistan.

On 23 January, the Afghan Taliban claimed that "terrorists" (National Resistance Front of Afghanistan) were being deployed by Pakistan to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan in order to conduct attacks inside Afghanistan, and six insurgents attempting to infiltrate the border were killed by Pakistani forces in Zhob District.

February 2025

Since 3 February 2025, sporadic small scale clashes between Pakistani and Afghan forces were reported in Bahram Chah district of Helmand province, prompting Afghanistan to evacuate civilians from the area. Both sides reinforced their positions and Taliban started blocking roads in the area. The 205th Corps of Kandahar was deployed by Taliban to reinforce the region.

On 16 February, a senior commander of the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction of the Pakistani Taliban was wounded as his vehicle was intercepted near the border. On the same day, there was a confrontation between Pakistan and Afghanistan border forces on Torkham border crossing from both sides, firing on both sides started between Khyber District and the corresponding Nangarhar province as well as Mohmand District and the corresponding Kunar province, officials on both sides confirmed no casualties.

On 18 February, two Pakistani soldiers were killed in a skirmish with Afghan Taliban forces in Mohmand District.

On 20 February, a Pakistani soldier was wounded during skirmishes with Afghan forces on the Ghakhi Pass border post in Bajaur District.

March 2025

Between 2-3 March 2025, Pakistan's Frontier Corps and Afghanistan's Taliban border guards exchanged fire. On 2 March 2025 Taliban’s Ministry of Interior confirmed that one of their border forces was killed and two others were wounded in an exchange of fire on Sunday night. The firing once again erupted on 3 March 2025. According to sources, at least three Pakistani soldiers have been injured, while three Taliban members have been killed. The exchange of firing left a civilian injured on the Pakistani side of the border.

On March 3-4, clashes erupted once again, with Pakistan reporting that the Taliban was constructing a post on Pakistani soil. The border crossing was shut and a clash ensued, a Taliban soldier was killed and two Taliban soldiers were injured, while 4 Pakistani FC personnel were injured.

On 7 March, Pakistan claimed to have captured four insurgents that had crossed into Balochistan after crossing the border from Afghanistan.4 terrorists arrested near Pak-Afghan border in Balochistan: state media
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Afghanistan-Pakistan skirmishes (2024-present)
Afghanistan–Pakistan border
March 2024 in Afghanistan
March 2024 in Pakistan
Airstrikes conducted by Pakistan