Pakistan Halts Border Trade After Clashes with Afghanistan 

Pakistani forces were on high alert along the Afghan border Monday, following violent clashes over the weekend with Afghan forces that resulted in dozens of deaths and marked the deadliest conflict between the two neighbors since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Reuters reported. 

Afghan troops reportedly fired on Pakistani army posts along the northwestern border on Saturday night and captured several of the posts. The attack followed the Taliban government’s accusation that Pakistan had carried out airstrikes on Afghan territory, including in the capital, Kabul, earlier this week, the Guardian noted.  

Pakistan responded on Sunday with retaliatory attacks, firing on, and raiding, Afghan posts along the border. 

The Pakistani military said that 23 of its soldiers were killed in the clashes, while the Taliban said nine of their fighters were killed, according to Reuters. 

Meanwhile, Pakistan closed crossings for vehicles and pedestrians along the 1,600-mile border, halting trade and leaving scores of loaded vehicles stranded on either side, causing economic losses to both countries. 

Pakistan is the main supplier of goods and food supplies for landlocked, impoverished Afghanistan. 

Both sides reported that the border area was mostly calm Monday. 

These latest clashes signal a worsening of relations between the former allies, which have become increasingly tense amid accusations that Afghanistan is a haven for Pakistani Islamist militants – known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – carrying out deadly attacks on Pakistani soil. 

The Taliban denied the presence of Pakistani militants in Afghanistan. 

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump told reporters that he intends to focus on this conflict shortly. 

Meanwhile, China, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan, has tried to act as a mediator between the two, expressing serious concerns about the latest clashes.