An overnight exchange of gunfire and shelling at the Pakistan Afghanistan border left four civilians and one soldier dead, Afghan officials said on Saturday, December 6, marking the latest escalation despite a ceasefire agreement reached after deadly clashes in October. Hamdullah Fitrat, a spokesman for the Afghan government, said five civilians were also wounded. Across the border, a hospital in Chaman, Pakistan, reported treating three people with minor injuries. Both countries accused each other of launching unprovoked attacks at the busy Chaman Spin Boldak crossing in southern Afghanistan. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on X that the Pakistani side started attacking Afghanistan in Kandahar, Spin Boldak district, and the forces of the Islamic Emirate were forced to respond. Pakistan countered that Afghan forces fired first, with Mosharraf Zaidi, a spokesman for Pakistans prime minister, writing that the Afghan Taliban regime resorted to unprovoked firing. Ali Mohammed Haqmal, who heads Kandahars information department, said Pakistani forces fired light and heavy artillery, and that mortar rounds hit residential homes. Residents described a terrifying two hour exchange beginning around 10:30 pm local time. Light and weak firing started then the tanks started firing and the mortars hit our houses, said Mahmood Khan, who reported that a niece and two cousins were wounded. Another resident, Shamsullah, said his brother was killed by a mortar blast while moving to another room. We couldnt pick him up because more mortars were coming, he said, adding his brother died shortly after reaching a hospital in Kandahar. On the Pakistani side, labourer Muhammad Naeem said mortar shells struck homes and nearby areas as gunfire intensified. Many people fled their homes, but because the gunfire was so heavy, we had no choice but to stay inside, he said. The border region remains tense amid a deepening rift between the two neighbours since the Taliban regained power in 2021. Pakistan accuses Kabul of harbouring militants, particularly the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), who carry out cross border attacks, a claim the Taliban government denies. More than seventy people were killed in Octobers clashes before Qatar and Turkey brokered a ceasefire, but subsequent talks have failed to produce a lasting agreement and the border remains closed. Last month, Kabul accused Pakistan of conducting airstrikes that killed ten civilians, including nine children; Pakistan rejected the claim and later warned that the ceasefire was not holding due to continued militant attacks. Pakistan announced this week that it would partially reopen the frontier to allow United Nations aid deliveries through the Chaman crossing. Zaidi said those plans remain unchanged, noting that aid deliveries are separate and would not be affected by the latest fighting.
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