Pakistan, Afghanistan forces clash in intense border firefight
Report said Pakistani forces shelled Afghan residential areas, forcing civilians to flee homes amid escalating cross-border tensions.
Pakistan, Afghan Forces Trade Deadly Fire as Tensions Boil Over Border
Kabul, October 15, 2025 — In the quiet hours before dawn, the sound of heavy artillery shattered the fragile calm along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. What began as a brief exchange of gunfire late Tuesday night spiraled into fierce cross-border clashes early Wednesday, leaving civilians terrified and officials on both sides scrambling to contain the escalating violence.
According to multiple local media reports, heavy fighting erupted around 4 a.m. in Spin Boldak, a key border district that connects Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province with Pakistan’s Balochistan region. The Afghanistan-based Khaama Press, citing local sources, reported that intense shelling and gunfire continued for several hours, with both militaries using heavy weapons.
The clashes came amid already rising tensions between the two neighbors, each blaming the other for repeated provocations and cross-border attacks. By sunrise, thick plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the border villages — a grim reminder of how quickly political disagreements can turn into human tragedy.
Local Afghan media outlets reported that Pakistani forces had fired shells into residential areas, forcing dozens of families to flee their homes in panic. “We could hear the explosions one after another. My children were crying, and we had to run,” said Rahmatullah, a resident of Spin Boldak, in a phone interview with local journalists. “We don’t care who started it anymore — we just want peace.”
Residents in Kandahar province took to social media to share videos and images of damaged houses and streets filled with debris, claiming that Pakistan had launched heavy weapon attacks targeting civilian homes. The footage, though unverified, quickly spread across social platforms, fueling anger and fear among both Afghan and Pakistani citizens.
The Pakistani side, however, offered a different version of events. Officials in Islamabad claimed that Afghan border forces initiated unprovoked fire on their security posts, prompting Pakistan to respond “in self-defense.” The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistan’s military media wing, did not immediately release details on casualties but described the situation as “highly tense and under close monitoring.”
The latest confrontation follows a series of deadly skirmishes that have flared along the Durand Line, the 2,640-kilometer border that has long been a flashpoint between the two nations. On Tuesday night, a brief exchange of fire was reported in Afghanistan’s Khost province, signaling that tensions were once again reaching dangerous levels.
The situation deteriorated sharply after Afghanistan claimed over the weekend that its forces had killed 58 Pakistani soldiers in retaliatory strikes on several Pakistani military outposts. Pakistan rejected the claim, saying only 23 of its soldiers had been killed, accusing Kabul of exaggerating numbers for propaganda purposes.
In response, Pakistan launched airstrikes in and around Kabul, as well as in a market area in eastern Afghanistan, drawing sharp criticism from Afghan officials, who denounced the attacks as a “violation of national sovereignty.” Islamabad defended its actions, saying it was targeting “terrorist hideouts responsible for attacks inside Pakistan.”
This cycle of accusation and retaliation has plunged both countries into one of their worst security crises in recent years. The border — meant to be a dividing line — has increasingly become a battlefield. Civilians, caught between two armies and two narratives, are paying the heaviest price.
Eyewitnesses from border villages described scenes of chaos as families fled their homes carrying whatever they could. “It was like the ground was shaking,” said Gulnaz, a mother of three from the Afghan side of Spin Boldak. “We grabbed our children and ran toward the open fields. We don’t know where we will sleep tonight.”
Humanitarian organizations have expressed alarm over the situation. Early reports suggest dozens of families have been displaced, with fears that the number could rise if the fighting continues. “The border regions are heavily populated, and these clashes are putting civilian lives at great risk,” said a Kabul-based aid worker.
The renewed violence threatens to further strain already fragile Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, which have deteriorated steadily since the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul in 2021. Pakistan has accused Afghanistan’s rulers of harboring militants from the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a group responsible for deadly attacks inside Pakistani territory. Kabul, in turn, claims Islamabad is violating Afghan sovereignty and using military pressure to influence border control and trade routes.
Analysts say both sides are caught in a dangerous cycle of mistrust. “The situation is extremely volatile,” said security analyst Rahimullah Yusufzai. “Both countries are facing internal political pressures, and border tensions provide a way to deflect attention. But the cost of escalation is far too high for either side to bear.”
For now, sporadic gunfire continues to echo across the rugged border landscape. As dawn turned into daylight, reports suggested a temporary lull in fighting — though fears remain that hostilities could resume at any moment.
In the words of a weary local elder from the Afghan side: “We have seen war for decades. We’ve buried friends and family on both sides of this border. What we need is not more bullets, but the courage from both governments to talk — before it’s too late.”