Afghanistan Peace Campaign
Taliban and Pakistani forces exchanged fire near the Torkham border crossing on Sunday, November 1, according to local sources, disrupting the return of Afghan migrants from Pakistan.
Local sources reported that the two sides fired towards each other’s positions near the Durand Line and that the fighting was continuing. The reports said the clashes began after Taliban forces attempted to establish a security post known as Jangal near the border.
The sources said the latest fighting had also halted the return of Afghan migrants from Pakistan through Torkham. They added that tensions and clashes had previously erupted over plans to build the same post.
Neither Taliban nor Pakistani officials had publicly commented on the reported incident by the time of publication. No information was immediately available about possible casualties or damage.
The reported confrontation comes amid repeated clashes and rising tensions along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The Long War Journal reported on October 29 that Taliban and Pakistani forces had clashed at least three times along different sections of the border since October 19, including an exchange of fire near Torkham on October 28.
The United Nations has also warned that fighting near Torkham threatens civilians and humanitarian workers. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said clashes on October 28 killed a child and injured a humanitarian worker who had been assisting Afghan families returning from Pakistan. An AFP report separately cited Afghan police as saying two children were killed and two civilians wounded in the incident; the accounts differ and have not been independently reconciled.
Torkham is one of the main crossing points for people and goods between Afghanistan and Pakistan. OCHA said more than 600,000 people had returned to Afghanistan through the crossing between January and early October 2026, accounting for nearly 85 percent of recorded returns from Pakistan during that period.
Previous border clashes have repeatedly disrupted movement and trade. The crossing was closed for more than two weeks following fighting that began on October 11, before reopening for Afghan refugee returns and trade, according to TRT World, citing officials and Afghan authorities.
The latest reported dispute over the Jangal post adds to tensions between the Taliban authorities and Pakistan. Islamabad accuses the Taliban of allowing militant groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to operate from Afghanistan territory. Kabul denies providing safe havens to militants and says Pakistan’s security problems are an internal matter.