HomeNewsOpinionOPINION | Pakistan experiences ‘two-front’ conflict

OPINION | Pakistan experiences ‘two-front’ conflict

Outbreak of armed conflict between Pakistan and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan is a reminder that one should be careful what one wishes for. That said, Afghanistan can at times bring rivals on to the same page. The layers to the interrelationships in the region make for a complex situation

October 15, 2025 / 08:40 IST
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Over the weekend, Afghan Taliban forces reportedly launched an unprovoked attack on Pakistani border posts, killing 23 troops, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Over the weekend, Afghan Taliban forces reportedly launched an unprovoked attack on Pakistani border posts, killing 23 troops, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Pakistan-Afghanistan relations have hit a new low after fierce border clashes between their security forces over the contested Durand Line during the weekend (October 10-11). Both sides have confirmed that their troops have been killed and while the official figures are Pakistan 23 dead and Afghanistan nine killed, the unofficial death toll is reported to be much higher, going into the hundreds.

These clashes are the most serious in scale since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in August 2021.

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Pakistan bombs its own creation

While the demarcation of the 2,600 km Durand Line (drawn in 1893 as the Afghan border with British India)   as a consensually accepted border between Pakistan and Afghanistan remains bitterly disputed and is an intractable  colonial legacy, in recent years Islamabad has accused the Taliban of providing shelter to the  TTP (Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan) – a largely Pashtun  terror group that has been attacking Pakistan.