Nuristan clash puts the Afghan-Pakistani border back on edge

The border between Afghanistan and Pakistan has once again produced the sort of story both governments know too well: a clash, competing claims and a great deal of political theatre. Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence said its forces killed 28 fighters in the eastern province of Nuristan after they crossed from Pakistan. In a statement on X, the Taliban’s defence ministry said it had engaged in clashes with the opposing group on Sunday.

Kabul did not stop at the casualty count. The ministry alleged that most of the fighters were former Afghan government security personnel recruited by Pakistan’s intelligence services with promises of asylum and well-paid work in foreign countries. It also said the group included ISIL fighters supported by Pakistani militias. The message was clear enough: this was not being presented as an isolated skirmish, but as another chapter in a long and ugly dispute.

Pakistan dismissed the accusations without ceremony. Its Ministry of Information and Broadcasting called them frivolous, baseless and devoid of any truth in a post on X. Islamabad denied that its security forces or intelligence agencies had been involved in the Nuristan clashes, had recruited or trained former Afghan security personnel, or had facilitated ISIL or other armed groups in Afghanistan. It also said the Taliban should take credible and verifiable action against terrorist organisations operating from its territory rather than trying to shift responsibility with fabricated accusations.

The timing matters because the border has already been under strain. Last week, Pakistan launched air strikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan, saying they were being used to store and launch drones, some of which were used in cross-border attacks. Afghan officials said the strikes on Thursday killed at least four people, and a spokesman for the Afghan Taliban government promised an appropriate response. Pakistan, meanwhile, has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of sheltering fighters who attack its territory. Kabul denies that charge, as it has done before and no doubt will again.

The latest incident also follows Pakistani air strikes in Afghanistan on September 21, which Islamabad said killed 28 fighters. Afghan officials said civilians were killed, and the U.N. mission in Afghanistan later confirmed three civilian deaths. That detail tends to disappear in the exchange of accusations, which is hardly surprising when both sides are more interested in assigning blame than in reducing the body count.

For now, the pattern is depressingly familiar. One side says it is hitting militants; the other says civilians are paying the price. One side accuses the other of harbouring armed groups; the other returns the favour with interest. The border is not simply tense. It has become a stage on which both governments keep rehearsing the same argument, with new casualties as the only reliable innovation.

Written by Andreas Hofer andreas.hofer@alpineweekly.com