The Taliban claimed 12 Afghan civilians were killed and 100 others wounded in a Pakistani military attack on the border on Wednesday.
PAKISTAN and Afghanistan have agreed to a temporary 48-hour ceasefire amid escalating hostilities between the two former allies on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, after deadly clashes erupted on the border overnight, according to Pakistani officials.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, as reported by Al Jazeera, said the ceasefire came into effect at 6:00 p.m. local time on Wednesday. The two countries will make sincere efforts through dialogue to find a solution to the standoff, which is complex but resolvable, the ministry said in a statement.
The ceasefire announcement came after fresh fighting killed and wounded dozens of people in the remote border area straddling Spin Boldak District in southeastern Afghanistan and Chaman District in Pakistan on Tuesday night.
Both sides accused each other of instigating the clashes.
- In a post on X, Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid accused Pakistani forces of starting the border clashes by firing "light and heavy weapons" into Afghanistan, killing 12 civilians and wounding more than 100.
- Ali Mohammad Haqmal, a press spokesman in Spin Boldak district, put the civilian death toll at 15. A district hospital official said 80 women and children were among the wounded.
Mujahid claimed Afghan forces returned fire, killing a "large number" of Pakistani soldiers, capturing Pakistani weapons and tanks, and destroying Pakistani military installations.
However, Pakistani authorities blamed the Afghan Taliban for the initial shelling of a Pakistani military post and other areas near the border, leading to clashes that also injured four of their own civilians.
An unnamed security official said six Pakistani soldiers were killed in the violence, which one official said lasted about five hours.
Najibullah Khan, a resident of Pakistan's Chaman district, said the clashes forced some people living near the border to evacuate. "People are in a very difficult situation. Bullets are falling on people's homes," he said.
In a statement, the Pakistani military said its forces had "effectively repelled" an Afghan Taliban attack, killing 15 to 20 of their members and wounding others. The military also said it had repelled a separate Afghan Taliban attack earlier in the night in the Kurram district further north.
The allegation that the attack was initiated by Pakistan is an outrageous and blatant lie, just like the claim of capturing any Pakistani posts or equipment," the military statement said.
The Armed Forces stand firm and are fully prepared to defend Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
- Al Jazeera's Kamal Hyder, reporting from the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan, called the latest fighting a "serious escalation" that threatens to "lead to something much bigger."
- People on both sides are wary of this new wave of escalation," Hyder said.
- The conflict had subsided by 05:30 GMT, according to the Afghan Taliban.
With Afghanistan in the midst of border tensions, two explosions were heard in downtown Kabul on Wednesday night.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said an oil tanker and a generator exploded, sparking a fire in the capital.
Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have escalated since Saturday, when both sides exchanged fire in several border areas, resulting in dozens of casualties on each side.
Although the clashes halted on Sunday following pleas from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, most border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan remain closed.
Over the weekend, Kabul said that in retaliation for what it called repeated violations of Afghan territory and airspace, it targeted several Pakistani military posts, killing 58 Pakistani soldiers.
- The Pakistani military reported a lower figure, saying it lost 23 soldiers and killed more than 200 "Taliban and affiliated terrorists" in retaliatory fire along the border.
- Pakistan accuses Kabul of harboring Pakistani Taliban fighters allied with the Taliban, known by the acronym TTP, who have carried out numerous deadly attacks in Pakistan.
- Kabul denies the accusation, saying it does not allow its territory to be used against other countries.
Tensions between the two countries also escalated following a visit by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to Pakistan's rival India, a visit Islamabad was "very concerned about," Al Jazeera's Hyder said.
Muttaqi addressed Pakistan-Afghanistan relations at a press conference in India, saying that while both countries wanted positive relations, "there are certain groups in Pakistan that are trying to create unrest,.
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