A Pakistani army tank stands at the Pakistan–Afghanistan border in Chaman on Dec. 6, 2025, following overnight cross-border firing between the two countries. An exchange of fire during the night at a major crossing point killed four civilians, Afghan officials said on Dec. 6, marking the latest surge in violence since deadly clashes in October. (Credit: Abdul Basit / AFP)
Four civilians were killed overnight from Friday to Saturday in Afghanistan during exchanges of fire with Pakistan in a border region, the latest episode in the confrontation between the two countries since early October. The death toll is four civilians killed and four wounded, Abdul Karim Jahad, governor of Afghanistan’s Spin Boldak region in the south, told AFP.
The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan and the government of Pakistan traded accusations on Friday over who initiated the shooting. “Unfortunately, this evening [Friday], the Pakistani side began attacking Afghanistan in Kandahar, in the Spin Boldak district, and the forces of the Islamic Emirate were forced to respond,” Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on X, without providing further details.
“A short time ago, the Afghan Taliban regime resorted to gunfire [without any provocation] along the border,” the spokesperson for Pakistan’s prime minister, Mosharraf Zaidi, wrote on X. “Our armed forces immediately responded in an appropriate and intense manner,” he added.
According to Afghan residents contacted by AFP, the exchanges of fire began around 10:30 p.m. and lasted roughly two hours. Ali Mohammed Haqmal, head of the Kandahar Information Department, also accused Pakistani forces of initiating the hostilities, saying Pakistan used “light and heavy artillery.” Mortar fire struck civilian homes, he told AFP.
End of the shooting
“The clashes have stopped; both parties have agreed to end them,” Haqmal said during the night. An AFP correspondent on the Pakistani side of the border, in Chaman, reported hearing artillery fire and explosions.
Bilateral relations, already strained by recurring security issues, have sharply deteriorated in recent months, culminating in mid-October in an unprecedented armed clash that left around 70 people dead. The border has remained closed since Oct. 12, halting normally significant cross-border trade.
A truce was reached on Oct. 19 after mediation by Qatar and Turkey, but it did not prevent further gunfire along the border, which remains closed. Negotiations launched in Turkey to secure a lasting cease-fire collapsed in early November.
On Nov. 25, Kabul accused Pakistan of carrying out strikes in border areas that killed 10 people, including nine children, an allegation Islamabad denied.
On Nov. 28, Pakistan said the “cease-fire is no longer being observed,” blaming what it described as “major attacks” by “terrorist groups” allegedly supported by Afghanistan, including the Pakistani Taliban. These tensions come as India, Pakistan’s historic rival, strengthens ties with Kabul.
