Pakistan Closes Border with Afghanistan Following Cross-Border Fire

Pakistan on Sunday closed its border crossings with Afghanistan after an exchange of fire between the two countries’ forces, officials said.

According to Pakistan’s security officials, Afghan troops opened fire on Pakistani border posts late Saturday night. Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense stated that the attack was a retaliatory response to Pakistani airstrikes carried out earlier in the week inside Afghan territory.

Pakistan confirmed it returned fire with artillery and heavy weapons, claiming that several Afghan border posts were destroyed during the retaliatory strikes. Security officials added that by Sunday morning, the firing had largely subsided, although sporadic gunfire continued in parts of Pakistan’s Kurram district, according to local residents and officials.

Authorities said that two main border crossings — Torkham and Chaman — were closed on Sunday, along with three smaller crossings at Kharlachi, Angoor Adda, and Ghulam Khan.

There was no immediate comment from Kabul on the closure. Afghanistan’s defense ministry earlier stated that its operation had ended at midnight local time. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on Sunday, “There is no threat anywhere in Afghanistan.”

Afghanistan, a landlocked nation, shares a 2,600-kilometer (1,600-mile) border with Pakistan. Islamabad has long accused the Taliban administration of sheltering militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — an allegation Kabul denies.

A Pakistani security official said that the airstrikes on Thursday in Kabul were aimed at a TTP leader, though Islamabad has not officially confirmed the operation. It remains unclear whether the militant leader survived.

The TTP has been waging an insurgency to overthrow Pakistan’s government and establish a hardline Islamic regime, maintaining close ties with the Afghan Taliban.