Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have plunged into a fresh crisis after Afghan forces intercepted an armed group crossing from Pakistan into the eastern Nuristan province, killing 28 men and wounding 32 others.
According to Afghanistan’s defence ministry, the infiltrators entered Kamdesh district with the intent to launch attacks. Kabul levelled serious direct accusations, claiming that the fighters—largely comprising former Afghan security personnel—were trained and coordinated by Pakistani intelligence and militia personnel.
Islamabad swiftly rejected the allegations as “frivolous and baseless.”
The deadly confrontation follows a cycle of escalating retaliation, ignited by major militant attacks in northwestern Pakistan that killed 30 people, prompting retaliatory Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghan territory.
While Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of harbouring groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Kabul maintains that Pakistan is violating its sovereignty.
With previous ceasefires brokered by international mediators having collapsed, the volatile 2,600-km border remains a critical flashpoint, threatening wider regional stability as mutual distrust deepens.
