Rizky Amelia
Afghanistan's Ministry of Defence announced on Sunday that its forces had killed 28 fighters who crossed into the eastern province of Nuristan from neighboring Pakistan, the latest flashpoint in a rapidly deteriorating relationship between the two countries.
In a statement published on the social media platform X, the Taliban-led defence ministry said its forces had clashed with the armed group on Sunday. The ministry offered no details on casualties among Afghan forces or civilians in the area.
The ministry alleged that the majority of those killed were former security personnel from the previous Afghan government, recruited by Pakistani intelligence services with promises of asylum and lucrative employment abroad. It further claimed that the group included ISIL (ISIS) fighters operating with the backing of Pakistani militias, an accusation that adds a new dimension to an already fraught dispute.
Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting swiftly rejected the accusations, calling them "frivolous, baseless and devoid of any truth" in its own post on X. The ministry denied that Pakistani security forces or intelligence agencies had any involvement in the Nuristan clashes, had recruited or trained former Afghan security personnel, or had facilitated ISIL or other armed groups operating inside Afghanistan.
Instead, Islamabad turned the accusation back on Kabul, saying the Taliban "should take credible and verifiable action against terrorist organisations operating from its territory" and fulfill its obligations so that "Afghan soil will not be used for terrorism against Pakistan or any other country rather than attempting to deflect responsibility through fabricated accusations."
The exchange marks the latest chapter in a cycle of recrimination that has steadily eroded whatever goodwill existed between the two neighbors since the Taliban's return to power in Kabul. Each side now routinely accuses the other of harboring militants and destabilizing the border region.
The Nuristan incident comes on the heels of a series of escalating military actions. Last week, Pakistan launched air strikes on 10 locations inside Afghanistan that it said were used to store and launch drones, some of which had been deployed in cross-border attacks. A spokesman for the Afghan Taliban government said those strikes killed at least four people and vowed an "appropriate response." The promise of retaliation appears to have materialized, at least in part, with Sunday's reported clash.
The cycle of violence also follows Pakistani air strikes carried out on September 21, which Islamabad said killed 28 fighters. Afghan officials countered that civilians were among the dead, and the United Nations mission in Afghanistan confirmed three civilian deaths from that operation. The divergent accounts illustrate how difficult it has become to independently verify claims coming from either capital.
Pakistan has long alleged that Afghanistan provides sanctuary to armed groups that launch attacks on Pakistani soil, a charge Kabul consistently denies. Afghan officials, for their part, accuse Pakistan's military and intelligence establishment of harboring and directing militant proxies — including ISIL — to sow instability inside Afghanistan. The mutual distrust has effectively paralyzed diplomatic channels and left border communities exposed to recurring violence.
The involvement of former Afghan government security personnel in Sunday's incident, as alleged by Kabul, points to a deeper problem. Since the Taliban takeover, thousands of trained Afghan soldiers, police officers and intelligence operatives have been left without livelihoods, and some have reportedly been recruited by various armed factions. The Taliban's claim that Pakistani intelligence lured them with asylum offers and well-paid jobs abroad — if accurate — would represent a significant escalation in covert tactics. Pakistan's categorical denial leaves the allegation unverified, but the mere airing of it signals how low relations have sunk.
The reported presence of ISIL fighters among the dead further complicates the picture. ISIL's Afghan affiliate, known as Islamic State Khorasan Province, has carried out numerous deadly attacks inside Afghanistan and has also targeted Pakistani interests. Both governments claim to be fighting the group, yet each accuses the other of tolerating or even weaponizing it. That contradiction makes cooperation against a shared threat nearly impossible.
The timing of the clash is also significant. It came just days after Pakistan's prime minister used the United Nations General Assembly podium to warn that a Houthi attack on Mecca or Medina would cross a "red line" — a message that underscored Islamabad's focus on regional security threats. Afghanistan, meanwhile, has been pressing for international recognition and the unfreezing of assets, and its leaders have little appetite for a prolonged military confrontation with a far larger neighbor.
Regional analysts warn that without a credible mechanism for dialogue, the tit-for-tat strikes and accusations will continue. The collapse of nearly all diplomatic contact means there is no neutral forum where each side can present evidence or lodge grievances. The U.N. mission's limited verification role offers only a partial check on competing narratives.
For ordinary Afghans and Pakistanis living along the porous border, the consequences are immediate. Cross-border shelling and air strikes have displaced families and destroyed homes, while trade routes that sustain local economies frequently shut down during periods of heightened tension. Neither government has publicly outlined a plan to protect civilians caught in the middle.
The international community has largely watched from the sidelines. Western powers have limited leverage with the Taliban and are wary of being drawn into a dispute between two states with long histories of supporting proxy forces against one another. That vacuum leaves the two capitals to manage — or mismanage — the crisis on their own.
Sunday's statement from Kabul and the swift rebuttal from Islamabad suggest neither side is prepared to de-escalate. If anything, the allegations are becoming more personal and specific, from claims of intelligence recruitment to the naming of ISIL's alleged patrons. Each new accusation narrows the space for any future reconciliation.
What began as a border security dispute has evolved into a broader contest over legitimacy and blame. Afghanistan wants Pakistan portrayed as the source of regional militancy; Pakistan wants Afghanistan branded as a safe haven for terrorists. Until those narratives shift, or until a third party brokers a credible channel for talks, the border is likely to remain a zone of recurring violence and competing claims.
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