Pakistan, Afghanistan Agree To 48-Hour Ceasefire After Brutal Border Clashes Near Spin Boldak-Chaman
Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire on Wednesday after some of the fiercest cross-border fighting in years left dozens dead and scores injured along the volatile Spin Boldak–Chaman corridor. The truce follows a night and day of hostilities involving airstrikes, drones, heavy artillery and small arms fire across multiple stretches of the Durand Line, as the two sides traded blame and sharply conflicting casualty figures amid a spiralling security crisis.Taliban officials accused Pakistan of initiating the latest barrage with “light and heavy weapons” fire into Spin Boldak, claiming at least 15 civilian deaths and more than 100 wounded, many of them women and children, as confirmed by local medical authorities.
Kabul’s forces said they retaliated across several sectors, alleging they killed large numbers of Pakistani troops and seized equipment, with videos circulating of fighters atop a captured T-55 tank Islamabad had procured from Serbia. Pakistan’s military countered that Taliban units attacked two major border posts in the southwest and northwest, asserting that both assaults were repulsed with over 40 Taliban fighters killed in retaliatory operations, and that at least three Afghan posts were struck. Islamabad also reported civilian injuries in Chaman from Afghan-origin fire, while separate accounts put Pakistani troop deaths at 23 in the initial exchanges.
Independent verification of battlefield claims remained elusive amid restricted access and ongoing operations.The epicentre of the clashes was the Spin Boldak–Chaman crossing, a critical trade and transit lifeline, though skirmishes were also reported near Kurram and other segments of the frontier. The border posts have long been flashpoints tied to the 2,640-km Durand Line dispute: Pakistan treats it as the international boundary and has fortified it with fencing and gates, a policy rejected by successive Afghan governments, including the Taliban administration, which argues the line divides Pashtun communities. Afghan forces were reported to have destroyed a Pakistan-built gate at Spin Boldak during the flare-up, underscoring the symbolic and strategic stakes.
The latest escalation appears to have been triggered by Pakistani airstrikes earlier in the week that Afghan officials say hit targets in Kabul and a marketplace in the east, causing casualties—a claim Islamabad has neither confirmed nor denied while reiterating its right to act against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants allegedly operating from Afghan soil. Pakistan has consistently accused Kabul of harbouring and enabling the TTP, an allied but distinct group from the Afghan Taliban that has intensified attacks inside Pakistan since 2021; the Taliban government rejects those allegations.Civilian suffering has mounted on both sides of the frontier. Mass evacuations from border towns like Spin Boldak and Chaman have been reported, hospitals have issued urgent calls for blood donations, and overland trade has been paralysed after Pakistan closed both the Spin Boldak–Chaman and Torkham crossings, stranding thousands of travellers and dozens of cargo convoys.
The closures threaten to choke humanitarian flows and batter already fragile local economies dependent on cross-border movement of goods and people.Diplomatically, the violence landed at a particularly sensitive moment. With Kabul denying entry to Pakistani ministers for talks, Islamabad turned to Qatar and Saudi Arabia to help broker a pause after an initial, shorter calm arranged over the weekend quickly collapsed. The fresh 48-hour truce represents another attempt to create space for de-escalation, even as core disputes remain unaddressed.
The timing also coincided with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s first official visit to India, signalling Kabul’s intent to diversify regional ties in ways that complicate Pakistan’s strategic outlook.Analysts caution that the situation remains precarious. Without verifiable mechanisms to manage incidents, establish rules of engagement, and address cross-border militancy concerns, the ceasefire could prove fragile. Immediate priorities for mediators include securing humanitarian corridors, reopening key crossings under monitored conditions, and standing up hotline channels to prevent rapid escalations from local skirmishes. But absent movement on the deeper drivers—territorial disputes, safe-haven accusations, and border governance—the risk of relapse into violence will remain high.
