Heavy gunfire and shelling were reported along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border late on Saturday (11th October), resulting in the deaths of 12 Pakistani soldiers. The incident occurred during the offensive launched by the Afghan Taliban on Pakistani border posts.
According to the media reports, the attack came just two days after Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Kabul targeting members of the Pakistani Taliban.
According to Pakistani security officials, the Afghan forces opened fire “without provocation,” forcing Pakistan to respond “with full force.” They said the fighting broke out at more than six locations along the border. The exchange included small arms and artillery fire, with video clips shared by Pakistani officials showing flashes of explosions lighting up the night sky.
MASSIVE AFGHAN – PAK CLASHES OVERNIGHT.
— Rahul Shivshankar (@RShivshankar) October 12, 2025
Several Pakistan soldiers killed. Pakistan posts along contested Durand Line fall in wave after wave of attacks.
Pak Airforce had struck Kabul last week when Afghan FM held talks with India's EAM. pic.twitter.com/t5YvWNtSho
“In retaliation for air strikes carried out by the Pakistani army on Kabul,” Taliban forces are engaged ” in heavy clashes against Pakistani security forces in various areas” along the border, the Afghan military said in a statement.
Later, Enayatullah Khowarazmi, spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence, told AFP, Taliban forces had captured three Pakistani border posts. “The operation ended at midnight,” he said. But he warned: “If the opposing side violates Afghanistan’s territory again, our armed forces are ready to defend their territory and will respond firmly.”
Pakistani authorities refuted losing any border posts and stated that their troops destroyed some positions of the Taliban instead. Islamabad did not have an official confirmation of whether the fighting had ceased by Sunday morning (12th October).
The tension came after Pakistan’s airstrike this week, said to have been aimed at the leader of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) in Kabul. Two blasts were witnessed in the Afghan capital on Thursday, 9th October, and another in southeastern Afghanistan. The Taliban-led defence ministry then blamed Pakistan for “violating its sovereignty” over the attacks.
Pakistani authorities informed Reuters that the target was in a car, though it is still not known if he lived. Islamabad has long blamed the Afghan Taliban for harboring TTP fighters responsible for attacking within Pakistan.
The Afghan Taliban refute such accusations and claim they do not permit their land to be used against any nation.
The latest violence comes at a time when Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is on an eight-day visit to India. Muttaqi, who travelled from Delhi by road with his delegation, was welcomed by Darul Uloom’s Vice-Chancellor Mufti Abul Qasim Nomani, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind president Maulana Arshad Madani, and other officials amid a floral shower. Hundreds of students and residents gathered at the seminary to greet him, though security personnel maintained strict protocols.
Speaking to reporters, Muttaqi expressed gratitude for the reception: “I am thankful for such a grand welcome and the affection shown by the people here. I hope that India-Afghanistan ties advance further.”
The visit has raised new concerns in Pakistan, which has long accused India of backing anti-Pakistan militant networks in Afghanistan.
Militant attacks inside Pakistan have increased sharply since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, heightening Islamabad’s frustration with the Kabul administration.
