Pakistan and Afghanistan Clash Again on the Durand Line After Pakistani Air Strikes
Pakistan said its forces killed at least 13 Afghan Taliban fighters in overnight fighting on September 24-25, 2026, in the Gulistan sector of Pakistan's Balochistan province, on the Afghan border.
Afghanistan's Defence Ministry rejected this claim. It said Afghan forces had instead destroyed a Pakistani border post. Neither side's numbers could be checked independently.
The clash came a day after Pakistan carried out air and drone strikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan's Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces. Pakistan said these were sites used to launch and store drones, after eight drones were sent into Pakistan from Afghan soil and Afghan forces shelled Pakistani border posts.
The Taliban government denied sending any drones. Its spokesperson said the Pakistani strikes killed four civilians and warned of an "appropriate response".
Earlier in the same week, Pakistani jets had hit sites in eastern Afghanistan. The United Nations confirmed three civilian deaths in those strikes.
The fighting puts at risk peace efforts by China, Türkiye (Turkey), Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The root of the dispute is Pakistan's charge that Afghanistan shelters the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an armed group that attacks Pakistan. Kabul denies this.
Durand Line: The Disputed Pakistan-Afghanistan Border
The Durand Line is the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is about 2,600 km long and runs from the Iran border in the south-west to the China border in the north-east. It was drawn by British India and the ruler of Afghanistan in 1893. Pakistan treats it as a settled international border. Afghanistan has never formally accepted it since Pakistan was created in 1947.
The latest fighting took place in the Gulistan sector of Balochistan, right on the Durand Line. Pakistan's strikes in Kandahar, Paktia and Khost hit provinces that sit on the Afghan side of the line. Because Afghanistan does not accept this border, every clash here also reopens the old question of where the border really is.
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP): Origin, Aims and the Afghan Link
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also called the Pakistani Taliban, is a banned armed group that fights against the government of Pakistan. It was formed in December 2007 as an umbrella of many smaller militant groups in Pakistan's north-western tribal areas. It wants to overthrow Pakistan's government and impose its own strict version of Islamic law. It is a separate group from the Afghan Taliban, who rule Afghanistan, but the two are closely linked.
Pakistan's charge that Afghanistan shelters the TTP is the main reason behind its air strikes and the latest border clash. Pakistan says the drones and attacks came from Afghan soil, while the Taliban government denies any role. Until this TTP question is settled, the Durand Line is likely to see repeated fighting.
- Pakistan's claim: at least 13 Afghan Taliban fighters killed on the night of September 24-25, 2026, in the Gulistan sector, Balochistan
- Afghanistan's Defence Ministry denied the claim and said a Pakistani post was destroyed
- Pakistan's air and drone strikes: 10 locations in Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces, after eight drones entered Pakistan
- Afghan side's claim: four civilians killed in those strikes; UN confirmed three civilian deaths in earlier Pakistani strikes that week
- Mediators trying to broker peace: China, Türkiye, Qatar, Saudi Arabia
- Earlier escalations: heavy clashes in October 2025, ended by a ceasefire in Doha (19 October 2025) mediated by Qatar and Türkiye, followed by talks in Istanbul (25-30 October 2025); Pakistan launched air strikes on Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia on 27 February 2026
- Durand Line: signed 12 November 1893; about 2,600 km long; not recognised by any Afghan government since 1947
- India upgraded its technical team in Kabul to an embassy on 21 October 2025