Afghanistan–Pakistan skirmishes (2024-present)

It has been suggested that 2024 Taliban-Pakistan War be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2024.

It has been suggested that 2024 Pakistan–Afghanistan tension be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2024.

It has been suggested that 2024 Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2024.

A request that this article title be changed to Afghanistan–Pakistan conflict is under discussion. Please do not move this article until the discussion is closed.

A request that this article title be changed to Afghanistan–Pakistan skirmishes (2024–present) is under discussion. Please do not move this article until the discussion is closed.

2024 Afghanistan–Pakistan skirmishes
Part of Afghanistan–Pakistan skirmishes – Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Insurgency in Balochistan
The international border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Date 16 March – 19 March 2024,[5][6] 7 September 2024,[7] 25 December 2024[8] – present Location North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Wana, Dera Ismail Khan, Gwadar, Turbat, Shangla, Khost, Paktika, and along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border Result Initial de-escalation[9] followed by a renewal of conflict
Belligerents
Afghanistan Pakistani Taliban (supported by Afghanistan per Pakistan)[1] Balochistan Liberation Army (alleged)[2]	Pakistan National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (alleged)[3][4]
Commanders and leaders
Hibatullah Akhundzada Hasan Akhund Noor Wali Mehsud Sehra alias Janan † Sher Zaman alias Mukhlisyar † Abu Hamza † Akhtar Muhammad † Shoaib Iqbal Cheema alias Muneeb Jatt Abdullah Mehsud Bashir Zeb	Asif Ali Zardari Shehbaz Sharif General Asim Munir Zaheer Ahmad Babar Naveed Ashraf
Units involved
Afghan Armed Forces Afghan Army Pakistani Taliban militants Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group Jaish-e-Fursan-e-Muhammad Group BLA militants Majeed Brigade	Pakistan Armed Forces  Pakistan Army XI Corps XII Corps Pakistan Air Force  Pakistan Navy PNS Siddique Pakistan Naval Air Arm Frontier Corps Inter-Services Intelligence
Casualties and losses
900+ killed in 2024, including 27 Afghans (per Pakistan) (as of December 27)[10]	≈400 personnel killed (per Pakistan) (as of December 27)[10]
950+ Pakistanis killed in 2024 (per Pakistan) (as of December 28 and not including insurgents)[11]

The 2024 Afghanistan–Pakistan skirmishes are a series of ongoing armed clashes consisting of cross-border airstrikes and exchanges of gunfire between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The conflict also separately includes the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), and Pakistani Taliban. The skirmishes took place over many locations along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, including North Waziristan, South Waziristan, Wana, Dera Ismail Khan, Shangla, Khost, and Paktika.^[12] Subsequent attacks were also launched in Turbat and Gwadar in Balochistan province, by the Balochistan Liberation Army. Militant attacks on CPEC and Pakistani military bases accommodating US aircraft pose a threat to Chinese and American interests in Pakistan.^[13][14][15] After de-escalation in March 2024, the conflict resurged in December 2024 with Pakistani airstrikes against Afghanistan, specifically in Paktika Province.^[16]

Conflict in March marked the second round of air strikes by Pakistan on the territory of Afghanistan in a period less than two years. The first similar Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan soil came in 2022.^[17] Further air strikes occured in December.

While Pakistan has been accused of supporting the Afghan Taliban in the past, after the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Afghanistan and Pakistan have repeatedly broken out border conflicts.^[18] The Pakistani government accuses the Afghan Taliban authorities of harboring the Pakistani Taliban rebels in its growing insurgency.^[19]

On 16 March 2024, militants detonated a truck bomb and fired at Pakistani soldiers at a border checkpost. Five Pakistani soldiers were killed in the truck bombing, and two more were killed in the firing. Six attackers were also killed, according to Pakistan Army, who stated that the attackers used Afghanistan as a base for the attack. A militant group known as Jaish-e-Fursan-e-Muhammad took responsibility for the attack; Pakistani officials believe the members to be part of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP).^[20][21] Afghanistan led by the Taliban denied that the perpetrators were from their territory.^[22] On 17 March 2024, President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari vowed strong retaliation against perpetrators of the attack.^[23]

On 18 March 2024, in response to the attack from Afghanistan, Pakistan Air Force carried out two intelligence based airstrikes on Afghanistan's eastern border provinces of Khost and Paktika. The Afghan government claim that Pakistan killed five women and three children.^[24] Pakistan denies this, claiming that it killed terrorists instead while targeting the Hafiz Gul Bahadur militant group, a splinter organization of the Pakistani Taliban, and that it had successfully killed Sehra alias Janan, a high-value target commander. Another commander, Abdullah Mehsud, was claimed to have been killed, but later released a video refuting the claim. It was also reported that Mehsud's house was targeted in which his wife and a minor son was killed. Pakistan went on to blame the Pakistani Taliban and its splinter militias for the deaths of hundreds of Pakistani civilians, and claimed that they used Afghanistan as a base and that they had support from within the Taliban.^[25][26]

In response to the airstrikes, the Afghan Defense Ministry stated it was targeting numerous Pakistani positions across the border.^[22] Mortar firing from the Afghan side injured more than four civilians and three military personnel in Kurram District.^[27] A Pakistani captain was also killed and 2 other soldiers injured by the shelling.^[28] Taliban officials did not disclose their losses, however, the local Afghans reported the death of a soldier of the Afghan army in the clashes. Skirmishes were also reported in the hilly areas surrounding the Angoor Adda border crossing of South Waziristan but no casualties were reported .^[29] It was also reported that in the areas around Wanna, the artillery munitions struck close to the bunkers on both sides of the border but no casualties were reported.^[29]

On March 20, separatist militants belonging to Balochistan Liberation Army attacked the Gwadar port complex. The attack failed due to the rapid response of the Pakistani security forces. The clash killed eight BLA militants and two Pakistani soldiers. The Chief Minister of Balochistan claimed that the BLA attackers came from Afghanistan and were provided shelter by the Afghan government.^[30]

On 22 March, a suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into a military convoy passing through Dera Ismail Khan; this attack resulted in the death of two Pakistani soldiers and wounding of 15 others.^[31] In response to this attack Pakistan vowed a strong retaliation against terrorism.^[32]

On 25 March, Balochistan Liberation Army's Majeed Brigade attacked Pakistan's second largest Naval Base PNS Siddique in Turbat which houses American as well as Chinese aircraft.^[13] This attack was foiled by Pakistani Security forces.^[33] In this attack, 6 BLA militants were killed by the Frontier Corps outside the perimeter of the base while one Pakistani soldier was killed.^[34]

On 26 March 2024, in Shangla District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, a suicide bomber attacked a bus transporting five Chinese laborers and their Pakistani driver on their way to the Dasu Dam, killing all of them.^{[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42]} Pakistan police detained more than 12 people, including some Afghan nationals. But the Taliban government in Afghanistan has repeatedly denied giving safe haven to militants.^[43]

On 7 September 2024, the Taliban border guards of Afghanistan clashed with Frontier Corps of Pakistan. The conflict erupted at the Kurram district bordering Khost province of Afghanistan. The skirmish reportedly broke out when Taliban forces attempted to construct a security outpost on the Afghan side of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border barrier, prompting Pakistani troops to open fire to force the other side to stop the activity. Heavy clashes had injured at least five Pakistani soldiers, including an officer while in Pakistan's retaliation at least eight Afghan Taliban fighters were killed including two Taliban Army commanders and 16 others injured in the early hours of 7 September. One soviet-era T-62 tank operated by Afghan Taliban destroyed by the Pakistani forces.^[7][44][45]

On 21 December, At least 16 soldiers are killed in an attack by the Pakistani Taliban on an outpost in South Waziristan,^[46] eight insurgents were also killed in the clash.^[47] On 25 December 2024, the Pakistan Air Force launched precision airstrikes in response to the 21 December attack, on seven locations located across four villages of Barmal District of Afghanistan Paktika province initially claiming to have killing 20-25 terrorists. The villages targeted by PAF included Laman, Margha, and Murg Bazaar. Reports indicate that the Murg Bazaar village in Barmal was completely destroyed.^[48] The airstrikes took four High Value Targets(HVTs) that included terrorists camps and hideouts of key commanders, these included the compound of senior ranking Commander of TTP, Sher Zaman alias Mukhlis Yar's hideout, the Commander Abu Hamza's recruitment camp and Akhtar Muhammad alias Khalil suicide bombers" training camp. All of these commanders were using camps for recruitment and training young child suicide bombers and terrorists. The fourth target struck by PAF was the "Umar Media" centre of TTP, being headed by the TTP's commander Shoaib Iqbal alias Muneeb Jatt, from where the TTP propagated its digital propaganda.^[49] Afghan Taliban's Defence Ministry, the Afghan Taliban regime official spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid confirmed reports of the strike carried out by Pakis­tani forces, but claimed that the dead and injured included a number of children and other civilians. The PAF's strikes mark third instance of Pakistan launching attack on Afghan soil since the fall of Kabul. The Pakistan airstrikes coincided with the birthday of Pakistan's founder.^{[50][51][52][53][54]} The Afghan Government reported that 46 people had been killed^[55] and 6 wounded, with the casualties including children.^[56][57]

On 26 December 2024, Afghan and Pakistani forces exchanged fire at the border between Dand Aw Patan and Kurram, with no casualties or damage initially reported by either side.^[58] On 27 December, Afghan and Pakistani border troops exchanged fire for several hours in Dand Aw Patan.^{[59][verification needed]} Some civilian homes were damaged by Pakistani rockets.^[59] Two soldiers were killed and 11 were wounded in skirmishes in Bajaur District, heavy casualties were also reported amongst the insurgents.^[58]

On 28 December, fighting broke out again as the Afghan Defence Ministry claimed to have attacked "several points" across the border with Pakistan.^[60] A security source told AFP that one Pakistani paramilitary was killed and seven others wounded^[61][62] while seven to eight Taliban were reported to have been killed in retaliatory skirmishes.^{[63][unreliable source?]} Pakistani security sources reported two incursions and that over 15 TTP militants and Afghan Taliban were killed, and that counter-fire forced the Afghan Taliban to abandon six posts, while three Pakistani soldiers were injured and none killed.^[64] TOLOnews reported that five were killed and three wounded by a Pakistani mortar shell.^[65] Pakistan security forces released videos purportedly showing several Afghan border posts being attacked by the Pakistani forces.^[66]

In the early hours of 29 December, militants launched a third infiltration attempt targeting a border military post in South Waziristan. The attack was repulsed, and at least 7 militants were killed.^[67] Also on 29 December, an explosion targeted the Taliban Ministry of Interior Affairs in Kabul, killing 10 Taliban fighters and wounding five more. The National Resistance Front of Afghanistan claimed responsibility, and said that a Taliban commander was killed and three military vehicles destroyed.^[3]

On 30 December 2024, 15,000 Taliban troops were deployed to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in response to the ongoing skirmishes.^[68] The force included multiple battalion level units armed with Soviet-era Tanks and Humvees left following the American withdrawal from Afghanistan.^[69] Afghan forces also claimed to have conducted Artillery strikes and reported skirmishes with Pakistan on 30 December.^[69] Pakistani Taliban released a video showing the capture of border post in Bajaur District on 30 December, the post was already vacated and Pakistani forces claimed that the troops were already transferred from that post to newer more fortified posts along the border.^[58]

On 31 December 2024, reports claimed that Pakistani military had entered Wakhan corridor and was preparing to seize the region, but the local Taliban sources denied Pakistani presence in the region.^[70][71]

On 1 January 2025, an MPA of the Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf, Anwar Zaib Khan, claimed that 400 militants from Afghanistan had captured fifteen border posts along the border in Bajaur District, raising the flags of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and began fortifying their newly acquired positions and that the local residents began fleeing the area expecting an imminent large scale operation by the Pakistan Armed Forces.^[72]