Fresh Bloodshed Erupts on Pakistan-Afghanistan Border Amid Rising Hostilities | Top Points

Ferocious cross-border combat arose between Pakistani and Afghan troops early in the night on Tuesday and continued on Wednesday along the all-important trade crossing that links Spin Boldak, a southeastern Afghanistan district, and the Pakistani Chaman district. The lethal interactions included airstrikes, heavy artillery and small weapons, dozens of victims, including a great number of civilians, and the harsh worsening of relationships between the two neighbours.

Each side is still giving conflicting reports on the number of casualties which is characteristic of the border situation. Afghan Taliban officials said that at least 15 civilians were killed by mortar fire in Spin Boldak, and dozens more injured, mainly women and children. Officials in the local hospitals in Spin Boldak verified the large civilian deaths. Pakistan, in its turn, claimed that its civilians were injured in the other side of the border at Chaman due to the attacks of what it described as the Taliban forces. The military of Pakistan also boasted killing more than 40 Afghan Taliban and other allied fighters as part of its revenge operations in the different sectors in the border. On Wednesday, local sources reported at least three Afghan-Taliban posts were hit on the border, and they could see drones and aerial attacks.

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Location: Fighting has been centered around the Spin Boldak-Chaman crossing, which is a key border crossing but confrontations have also been witnessed along other sections of the Durand Line such as along Kurram district in Pakistan.

Divergent Accusations: The two countries have accused each other of instigating the violence and had made furiously conflicting death tolls.

According to the Afghanistan Taliban, they killed up to 58 Pakistani troops in retaliation attacks and they captured or destroyed a great number of Pakistan military bases and equipment. They verify more than a disarming dozen Afghan civilian loss and more than 100 harmed in the Spin Boldak area in Pakistani shelling.

At least 23 of its own troops were reportedly killed in the first clashes by Pakistan. According to Pakistani troop, more than 200 Taliban and allied militants (including TTP militants) were killed in retaliatory efforts by Pakistani troops who had destroyed several Afghan posts, tanks.

Civilian Impact: The conflict has struck both sides, causing a mass exodus in border towns, such as Spin Boldak and Chaman. Hospitals have sent out emergency alerts to the blood banks seeking a supply of blood as injured people, many of them women and children, are on the rise at an alarming rate.

The Durand Line Dispute: The recent outbreak is based on the mixture of the old-time border conflicts and the current crisis of cross-border militancy. The boundary of 2640km that the British had drawn in 1893 is still contentious. Pakistan sees it as the right international border and has been strengthening its borders with fences, gates and checking posts, a move most vehemently opposed by all Afghan regimes, including the current Taliban government, which claims that it arbitrarily separates ethnic Pashtun communities. Pakistani built border gate at Spin bolidak has been reported to be destroyed by Afghan forces.

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Cross-Border Militancy: Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban government of hosting and sponsoring the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)- another but allied militant faction that has intensified and increased attacks within Pakistan since 2021. Islamabad considers the TTP rather a serious security threat that works on the Afghan soil.

Trigger of Escalation: The most recent bout of violence seems to be a direct retaliation of the Afghan forces after Pakistani airstrikes earlier in the week that according to the Afghan officials struck targets in Kabul and a marketplace in eastern Afghanistan killing people. Pakistan has not officially taken responsibility of the airstrikes but it asserts its right to protect itself against militants who are based in Afghanistan.

Border Closures: Pakistan has since closed the Spin Boldak-Chaman and the Torkham crossing, the two primary land crossings. This suddenly stopped all trading and delivery of humanitarian aid, thousands of travellers and dozens of cargo trucks were left on either side of the border.

Diplomatic Tensions: The aggravation is a very delicate moment. The tussles were taking place as Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was also on his first official visit to India, one of the biggest geopolitical competitors of Pakistan, which underscores the moves by Kabul to diversify its regional diplomatic activities as the tension between the two countries rose further.

The Appeals to Calm: After the first weekend confrontations, the regional powers, in particular, Saudi Arabia and Qatar came into action, and they were able to manage to temporarily stop the fighting. Nevertheless, this peace was short lived with the tensions returning soon as the main disagreements have not been solved yet. Analysts refer to the general state of affairs as extremely precarious.

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