Overview

• Overnight air and ground fighting flared along the frontier after days of rising tension, with Pakistan calling the Afghan attacks unprovoked and Kabul describing retaliation for earlier Pakistani strikes inside Afghanistan.
• Pakistan’s military said 23 of its soldiers were killed and more than 200 Afghan Taliban and allied fighters were neutralized, while the Taliban spokesman claimed 58 Pakistani soldiers and 9 Afghans died and that several Pakistani posts were seized.
• Taliban officials said Qatar and Saudi Arabia prompted a halt around midnight, but they reported Pakistani artillery fire resuming in some areas the following morning.
• Islamabad closed key crossings, including Torkham and Chaman, disrupting movement on both sides as the standoff remained unresolved.
• The escalation followed a deadly attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa attributed to the TTP, with Pakistan accusing Kabul of sheltering the group and Afghan authorities rejecting the allegation.