Pakistan-Afghanistan cross-border conflict escalates: Intense shelling forces hundreds of families to flee homes

Families residing along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border are weighing the difficult decision to abandon their homes as intense shelling and explosions mark the seventh consecutive day of cross-border conflict.

The escalation between the former allies has reached its most volatile point in years, following Pakistani airstrikes on several Afghan cities last week. This surge in violence adds further instability to a region already tense due to broader geopolitical strikes involving the US, Israel, and Iran.

Conversely, the Taliban has consistently denied providing any assistance to such insurgent groups.

Approximately 1,500 families have reportedly fled their homes to escape the heavy artillery and blasts.

"There is complete silence in the day, but the moment we sit for iftar dinner, the two sides start shelling," Farid Khan Shinwari from Landi Kotal, a town near the Torkham border crossing, told Reuters. “We open our fast in extremely difficult situations, as you never know when a shell can hit your house.”

On the Afghan side, hundreds of displaced individuals are sheltering in makeshift tents in open fields, while many others remain without any form of cover.

Fighting along the 2,600-km border has fluctuated throughout the week. Both Pakistan and Afghanistan claim to have seized territory and inflicted significant losses on the opposing side.

On Wednesday, the Afghan defence ministry claimed its forces downed a Pakistani drone and captured seven border outposts. The ministry further reported a staggering casualty count: 110 civilians killed (including 65 women and children) and 123 wounded.

While the United Nations mission has confirmed 42 deaths so far, Pakistan’s Information Minister, Attaullah Tarar, has disputed these figures.

Tarar said, “Pakistan exercises great care in only targeting terrorists and support infrastructure. No civilian structures have been targeted.”

Minister Tarar noted that on Saturday, Pakistan targeted "ammunition and critical equipment" at the Bagram air base north of Kabul, a site that previously served as a central US command hub during the two-decade Afghan war.