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.

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.