Overview

• Pakistan shut major crossings including Torkham and Chaman for a second day, halting trade and stranding trucks, as security forces maintained heightened readiness along the Durand Line.
• Pakistan reported 23 soldiers killed and claimed to have killed more than 200 Taliban and allied fighters, while Taliban officials claimed 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed and said nine of their own fighters died.
• Officials on both sides issued sharply conflicting accounts of who initiated the violence and what was struck, with Islamabad framing its actions as self-defence and Kabul denying it harbours anti-Pakistan militants.
• Qatar and Saudi Arabia urged restraint, and Afghan authorities said they paused attacks at their request, as international actors called for de-escalation to avoid wider fallout and economic disruption.
• Tensions widened diplomatically as Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, visiting India, said Afghanistan prefers dialogue but has “other means” if peace efforts fail, and Pakistan warned of a “befitting response” to any new provocations.