Pakistan says it has killed 13 Afghan Taliban fighters in overnight border clash as Kabul denies the claim

From the Newshound archive · first published 25 September 2026.

Pakistan's military says its forces killed at least 13 Afghan Taliban fighters during overnight clashes on the two countries' southwestern border, in one of the deadliest reported exchanges between the neighbours in recent months. Afghan authorities in Kabul have flatly denied the Pakistani account. The dispute has further strained the already fractious relationship between Islamabad and the Taliban government.

Pakistani forces reportedly repelled a cross-border attack before killing several Taliban fighters.

Kabul's denial puts the two governments in direct public contradiction over the scale and nature of the fighting.