Taliban Confirms Fighter Killed In Torkham Border Clash With Pakistani Forces

Abdul Mateen Qani, the Taliban’s Interior Ministry spokesperson, has confirmed that one Taliban member was killed and two others were injured in a clash with Pakistani forces at the Torkham border crossing.

Sources in Pakistan also reported that one civilian was killed, and three Pakistani soldiers were wounded during the confrontation.

Local media, quoting Qani, stated that Pakistani forces initiated the clash, prompting the Taliban to retaliate. According to him, the fighting lasted until 11 a.m. on Monday. He further claimed that Pakistani forces suffered casualties and that some of their military posts were destroyed.

Pakistani sources told Afghanistan International that at least three Pakistani soldiers were injured, and one civilian was killed in the exchange of fire. A Pakistani security official, speaking anonymously to Türkiye’s Anadolu News Agency, stated that the injured individual had been shot, while another civilian died amid the chaos at the border.

Torkham, one of the two main trade crossings between Afghanistan and Pakistan, has remained closed for over a week due to a dispute over the Taliban’s construction of a new checkpoint.

A Pakistani official revealed that the border closure, which affects trade between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwestern Pakistan and Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan, is causing an estimated daily loss of $3 million.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Shafqat Ali Khan, previously stated that the closure was due to the Taliban’s attempt to build a checkpoint on Pakistani territory. Calling the move a violation of existing protocols, Khan emphasised that Pakistan aims to resolve the issue through dialogue.

Pakistani media have reported that multiple rounds of negotiations between Taliban and Pakistani border forces have been held in an effort to reopen the crossing, but no agreement has yet been reached.