Calm returned to the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier at Chaman on Saturday after intense exchanges of fire the previous night, local media reported. Pakistani authorities said the firing subsided following retaliatory action by security forces.
Pakistani officials said mortar rounds were fired toward the Badani area, prompting a response from Pakistan’s border forces. A senior official in Quetta, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the exchange began around 10 pm and continued late into the night.
Three civilians were injured on the Pakistani side and were treated at the district hospital in Chaman. Afghan government spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said five people were wounded on the Afghan side.
The Afghan Taliban’s spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, accused Pakistan of launching an attack on Spin Boldak and said Taliban forces had responded. Pakistan’s military issued a statement saying the Afghan Taliban had carried out unprovoked firing along the Chaman border and that Pakistan’s armed forces had given an immediate, strong response. The statement added that Pakistan would remain alert and committed to protecting its territory and citizens.
The incident comes amid stalled diplomacy between Islamabad and Kabul. Talks hosted in Istanbul failed to produce a breakthrough after three rounds, following an earlier temporary ceasefire agreed on October 15 after discussions in Doha. Border tensions originally flared on October 11, and relations have been strained largely over Pakistan’s repeated allegations that militants from the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are operating from Afghan soil.
Mediators Turkiye and Qatar had sought to keep negotiations alive, issuing a joint statement at the end of October and urging further principal-level talks in early November. But after the November discussions, Pakistan’s defence minister said talks on cross-border terrorism had stalled and entered an indefinite phase. Following the breakdown, the Afghan Taliban suspended trade ties with Pakistan, and Pakistan had already halted cross-border trade after earlier clashes.
Authorities on both sides have portrayed the latest exchange as a limited but serious flare-up amid an otherwise tense and unresolved diplomatic process. Officials said they were monitoring the situation and remaining vigilant along the border.
