Scores Killed As Pakistan, Taliban Clash In Deadliest Fighting Since Kabul Takeover

Key Facts

Published: October 13, 2025 Location: Islamabad, Kabul Source: Original reporting from Worthy News, Wire Services

• Heavy border clashes between Afghanistan’s Taliban forces and Pakistan’s military left scores dead in the worst fighting since the Taliban seized power in 2021.
• Fighting erupted after Pakistani airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan, prompting Taliban retaliation and the closure of all major border crossings along the Durand Line.
• Regional powers Qatar and Saudi Arabia urged restraint, while Taliban Foreign Minister Muttaqi’s visit to India heightened Islamabad’s unease.
• Amid the turmoil, persecution of Christians in both Afghanistan and Pakistan continues, with believers facing severe restrictions, attacks, and death threats under Islamic extremism.

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

ISLAMABAD/KABUL (Worthy News) – Tensions remained high Monday along the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier after some of the heaviest border clashes in years left scores of soldiers dead on both sides, marking the worst violence since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.

Pakistan’s military said at least 23 of its soldiers were killed during days of fighting, while the Taliban claimed nine fatalities among its ranks. Both sides alleged far higher losses for the other without providing evidence. Pakistan said it killed more than 200 Taliban and allied fighters, while Afghanistan claimed 58 Pakistani troops were killed — figures that could not be independently verified.

The violence reportedly began after Pakistani airstrikes on Thursday targeted Kabul and a marketplace in eastern Afghanistan, according to both Taliban officials and Pakistani security sources. The strikes triggered retaliatory attacks by Taliban forces, who opened fire late Saturday on Pakistani border posts.

Pakistani forces said they responded with gunfire and artillery, destroying several Afghan positions. Both nations released video footage purporting to show each other’s border outposts being hit. Fighting subsided by Sunday morning, but sporadic gunfire continued in Pakistan’s Kurram region, local officials said.

BORDER CLOSED AMID REGIONAL CONCERN

Pakistan’s government closed all major crossings along the 2,600-kilometer (1,600-mile) border known as the Durand Line, drawn by British colonial rulers in 1893 and still disputed by Afghanistan. Crossings at Torkham and Chaman, as well as smaller ones at Kharlachi, Angoor Adda, and Ghulam Khan, were all sealed, officials confirmed.

Afghanistan’s defense ministry said Sunday that it had halted attacks “at the request of Qatar and Saudi Arabia,” which both issued statements urging restraint.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said there was “no kind of threat in any part of Afghanistan’s territory,” vowing that “the Islamic Emirate and the people of Afghanistan will defend their land.”

The clashes followed growing Pakistani frustration with the Taliban’s alleged failure to rein in militants of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who Islamabad says operate from Afghan territory. The Taliban denies that Pakistani insurgents are based inside Afghanistan.

PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS

The fighting also came as Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi paid a rare visit to India, Pakistan’s longtime rival, where New Delhi announced plans to upgrade ties with the Taliban-led government — a move that caused unease in Islamabad.

The renewed instability has added to fears for Afghanistan’s small Christian minority, which has faced severe persecution under the Taliban’s strict Islamic rule, Worthy News learned.

According to Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List, Afghanistan ranks number 10 among the 50 “most dangerous” countries for Christians, with believers forced to worship in secret and conversion from Islam punishable by death.

In neighboring Pakistan, Christians also remain under threat from Islamic extremists, with recent attacks targeting churches and entire Christian neighborhoods, adding to concern across South Asia’s volatile borderlands.

(Follow Worthy News for ongoing coverage of regional tensions and the plight of persecuted Christians in South Asia and beyond.)

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