Sunday, December 7, 2025 - An overnight exchange of gunfire and shelling at the Pakistan Afghanistan border left four civilians and one soldier dead, Afghan officials said on Saturday, December 6, marking the latest escalation despite a ceasefire agreement reached after deadly clashes in October.
Hamdullah Fitrat, a spokesman for the Afghan government,
said five civilians were also wounded. Across the border, a hospital in Chaman,
Pakistan, reported treating three people with minor injuries.
Both countries accused each other of launching “unprovoked”
attacks at the busy Chaman Spin Boldak crossing in southern Afghanistan.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on X that “the Pakistani side started
attacking Afghanistan in Kandahar, Spin Boldak district, and the forces of the
Islamic Emirate were forced to respond.” Pakistan countered that Afghan forces
fired first, with Mosharraf Zaidi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister,
writing that “the Afghan Taliban regime resorted to unprovoked firing.”
Ali Mohammed Haqmal, who heads Kandahar’s information
department, said Pakistani forces fired “light and heavy artillery,” and that
mortar rounds hit residential homes. Residents described a terrifying two hour
exchange beginning around 10:30 pm local time.
“Light and weak firing started then the tanks started firing
and the mortars hit our houses,” said Mahmood Khan, who reported that a niece
and two cousins were wounded. Another resident, Shamsullah, said his brother
was killed by a mortar blast while moving to another room. “We couldn’t pick
him up because more mortars were coming,” he said, adding his brother died
shortly after reaching a hospital in Kandahar.
On the Pakistani side, labourer Muhammad Naeem said mortar
shells struck homes and nearby areas as gunfire intensified. “Many people fled
their homes, but because the gunfire was so heavy, we had no choice but to stay
inside,” he said.
The border region remains tense amid a deepening rift
between the two neighbours since the Taliban regained power in 2021. Pakistan
accuses Kabul of harbouring militants, particularly the Pakistani Taliban
(TTP), who carry out cross border attacks, a claim the Taliban government
denies.
More than seventy people were killed in October’s clashes
before Qatar and Turkey brokered a ceasefire, but subsequent talks have failed
to produce a lasting agreement and the border remains closed. Last month, Kabul
accused Pakistan of conducting airstrikes that killed ten civilians, including
nine children; Pakistan rejected the claim and later warned that the ceasefire
was “not holding” due to continued militant attacks.
Pakistan announced this week that it would partially reopen
the frontier to allow United Nations aid deliveries through the Chaman
crossing. Zaidi said those plans remain unchanged, noting that “aid deliveries
are separate” and would not be affected by the latest fighting.
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