5 Pak soldiers killed as clashes resume on Afghan border amid ‘open war’ threat to peace talks

The Pakistani military claimed that militants attempted to cross from Afghanistan on Friday and Saturday into Pakistan’s Kurram and North Waziristan districts.

Updated on: Oct 27, 2025, 04:07:09 IST

Edited by Priyanshu Priya

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Five Pakistani soldiers and 25 militants were reportedly killed in clashes near the Afghanistan border, the Pakistani military said on Sunday. The violence occurred even as delegations from both countries met in Istanbul to ease tensions following an earlier series of clashes.

A Taliban security personnel stands guard along a road near the Ghulam Khan zero-point border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Gurbuz district in the southeast of Khost province on October 20, 2025. (AFP)

The Pakistani military claimed that militants attempted to cross from Afghanistan on Friday and Saturday into Pakistan’s Kurram and North Waziristan districts, rugged areas along the northwestern frontier.

Pakistan’s military media wing told news agency Reuters that the infiltrations raised doubts about “the intentions of the government in Afghanistan in regards to addressing the issue of terrorism emanating from its soil.”

This comes as earlier on Saturday, Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif said the truce was holding and expressed belief that Afghanistan wanted peace. "But failure to reach an agreement in Istanbul would mean ‘open war’," he warned, according to the news agency.

The Taliban government in Afghanistan has not yet responded to Islamabad’s latest allegations.

The group, however, denies sheltering militants and says Pakistan’s military operations violate Afghan sovereignty.

Peace talks underway in Istanbul

Officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan are meeting in Istanbul to establish the "mechanisms" for maintaining stability outlined during the Doha talks.

The recent confrontation, which left dozens dead including civilians, was the worst along the border since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Kabul. It began after explosions in central Kabul, which the Taliban government attributed to Pakistan, leading to retaliatory strikes along the frontier. Both sides eventually agreed to a truce in Doha last Sunday.

The initial explosions in Kabul coincided with a rare visit by the Taliban foreign minister to India.

Prior to these clashes, Pakistan had been a key supporter of the Taliban, providing strategic backing in Afghanistan as a counterbalance to India.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Priyanshu Priya
Priyanshu Priya is a journalist with nearly three years of newsroom experience, driven by a deep belief that stories, when told right, can shape conversations and hold power to account. Currently working as a Senior Content Producer with Hindustan Times, she writes on a wide spectrum of issues, from Indian politics and Delhi’s public concerns to global trade tensions and high-stakes crime stories. Priya joined HT at a pivotal moment, as Operation Sindoor was unfolding, and has since covered some of the most defining developments in recent times. Her reporting spans the Air India plane crash and the Pahalgam terror attack to India–US trade tensions, unrest in the Middle East, and key Assembly elections across states. She thrives in the fast-paced world of breaking news. In 2025–26, she was recognised with the Hindustan Times Digi Journo of the Q3 Award for driving over 4 million page views in a single month. A postgraduate in English Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) and a Mass Communication graduate from Patna Women’s College, Priya began her news career with the Zee News English team, where she extensively covered the Lok Sabha Election 2024, along with the Delhi and Maharashtra Assembly elections. When she’s not tracking or writing the next big development, she unwinds by watching series and films, reading books with strong female protagonists, and revisiting comfort shows for the familiar ease they bring when life feels a little too jittery.Read More

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