Overview

• Taliban officials say their operation ended around midnight, but both sides reported exchanges of fire at several border points on Sunday morning.
• Kabul claims 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 9 Taliban died, while Islamabad disputes that and cites 23 Pakistani soldiers killed and roughly 200 Afghans neutralized.
• Pakistan’s prime minister promised a forceful retaliation and security forces tightened the frontier as leaders traded warnings of a tough response.
• The key crossings at Torkham and Spin Boldak/Chaman were closed, civilian staff were withdrawn at Torkham, and additional paramilitary units were deployed.
• Pakistan reported shooting down three Afghan quadcopter drones during the clashes, and the standoff is framed by disputes over TTP sanctuaries, with a UN report noting the group benefited from the Taliban’s return to power.