Pakistani Border Post Captured in Khost Clash

A Pakistani border post was captured during fresh clashes in Khost, Afghan local officials said. Kabul and Islamabad clashed in Khost as peace talks continued in China, while both sides pressed sharply conflicting claims over casualties and battlefield losses.

Taliban local authorities in Khost said their forces clashed with Pakistani border troops in a frontier area of the province, claiming they captured a Pakistani post during the fighting. Pakistani officials had not immediately commented on the reported incident, which comes at a sensitive moment as both sides remain engaged in China-mediated talks aimed at containing their worst conflict in years.

Taliban officials said Pakistani forces suffered casualties in the clash and claimed that one Pakistani soldier’s body was left behind at the scene, though the account could not be independently verified. The latest fighting underscores how quickly military tensions continue to flare even as diplomats from both sides are trying to keep a fragile negotiation track alive in Urumqi.

The border confrontation comes against the backdrop of sharply competing casualty claims made by both sides since the conflict escalated in late February. Officials have said at least 761 civilians were killed and 626 others wounded in Pakistani attacks between Feb. 22 and early April, while also reporting large-scale destruction of homes, shops, mosques, schools and clinics across several provinces. Those figures have not been independently verified.

Pakistan, however, has rejected Taliban allegations of indiscriminate attacks on civilians and says its operations have targeted militants and military positions rather than residential areas. Pakistani officials and media-linked government sources have said hundreds of Taliban fighters have been killed since the latest round of hostilities began, offering a sharply different account of the conflict and its toll.

The latest clash unfolded even as peace talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan, hosted by China in the northwestern city of Urumqi, entered another round. Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said his delegation was participating “with sincerity and a solution-oriented approach,” while also stressing that Afghanistan reserved what he described as its right to defend its territorial integrity and people. China has said there has been progress in the discussions, though no concrete details have been made public.

The talks in Urumqi are being seen as a possible opening for reducing tensions after weeks of airstrikes, artillery exchanges and border clashes that have killed soldiers, militants and civilians on both sides. China, which shares borders with both countries and has growing strategic interests in regional stability, has increasingly positioned itself as a mediator pushing for a ceasefire, the reopening of crossings and a broader political understanding.

while both sides remain at the negotiating table, the conflict on the ground is still very much active. Unless battlefield incidents are contained and a verifiable ceasefire takes hold, even limited border encounters risk undermining whatever progress has been made in diplomacy.

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