Overview

• Afghan Taliban officials said their forces launched overnight reprisals against Pakistani border posts in response to alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul, which Islamabad has not confirmed.
• Pakistan’s military reported a forceful counterresponse using artillery, tanks and aerial assets, with officials saying several Afghan border posts were destroyed and three explosive-laden quadcopters were shot down.
• The Taliban claimed to have captured multiple Pakistani positions and to have killed at least 58 Pakistani soldiers, figures not corroborated by Pakistan, which instead asserted Afghan losses; battlefield claims remain unverified.
• Pakistan closed the Torkham and Chaman crossings as well as smaller points at Kharlachi, Angoor Adda and Ghulam Khan, with local reports of civilians moving from some border areas as tensions persisted.
• The flare-up follows months of Pakistani accusations that the Afghan side harbors TTP militants, a charge Kabul denies, while Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iran publicly called for de-escalation.