During the period from the late night of October 11 to the early morning of October 12, a fierce exchange of fire accidentally broke out on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. During this period, both sides used armaments with strong firepower such as fighter jets, drones with strong operational flexibility, and artillery with wide firepower. A series of heavy equipment, the scale of which cannot be underestimated from the actual conflict situation.
According to the information conveyed by Pakistan, the Information Bureau of the Pakistani Armed Forces issued a statement on the 12th, which declared that this military operation was Pakistan's counterattack against the previous attack launched by the Taliban of Pakistan (TTP) on the Pakistani border. In this process, the Pakistani army dispatched the F-16 fighter jet with advanced performance, the JF-17 Xiaolong fighter jet, and the powerful pterosaur armed drone to launch "precision strikes" against many targets in Afghanistan. These targets covered the training base of the Taliban of Pakistan (TTP), the training site of the Balochistan Liberation Armed Forces, and even some military camps and posts of important military significance in Afghanistan. The Pakistani side claimed that at least 200 militants were killed through this strike, while the Pakistani side also suffered the cost of the unfortunate death of 23 security forces and the injury of 29 others. In addition, the Pakistani army successfully occupied 19 Afghan posts and bases along the border, and made public some of the pictures produced during the bombing.
However, the statement of the Afghan side is very different from the Pakistani side, the Afghan government spokesman Mujahid, said in a press conference on the 12th that the Afghan counterattack caused the death of 58 people, 30 people were wounded, while the Pakistani side only 9 people died, 16 people were wounded, Mujahid believes Pakistan's cross-border strikes violate Afghan sovereignty, and clearly expressed no tolerance.
In fact, the conflict was not without a sign of sudden occurrence, its direct trigger was a TTP attack on October 8, when TTP militants hiding in Afghanistan cross-borderly attacked the Pakistani fleet, causing the death of 16 Pakistani soldiers; and TTP, long-time with Afghanistan as a base, operations against Pakistan, the United Nations report in July also mentioned this situation, Pakistan has previously been dissatisfied with this, Defense Minister Asiv, had expressed in parliament "patience is exhausted", this operation can be called a long-accumulated counterattack.
In addition, there is an old problem between the two countries that has not been resolved for a long time since the British delineation in 1893. The Durand Line, which is about 2640 kilometers long. Pakistan regards it as a legal border, but successive Afghan governments have not recognized it and believe that it is a legacy from the colonial period. Since the Afghan Taliban came to power in 2021, the friction between the two sides on this border has never stopped. This conflict has made this old contradiction prominent again.
It is worth noting that the United States, in the series of actions before this conflict after the attention, before the conflict erupted, the U.S. President Trump, openly asks Afghanistan to return Bagram air base, and threatened that if Afghanistan refuses will produce "catastrophic consequences", this base has been the U.S. military in Central Asia important military hub, strategic position is extremely important; at the same time, recent U.S. and Pakistan interaction is quite frequent, the Pakistani Prime Minister, during the United Nations General Assembly, with the U.S. side to talk separately, the Pakistani military also continuously visited the United States, the two sides in the field of rare land development, port construction, etc. has reached a partial consensus, according to Pakistani media revealed, the U.S.
From the relevant situation of the battlefield, it can be found that the operation carried out by the Pakistani army this time, has a clear tactical planning layout, the first is to use drones and fighter aircraft against each other's command points, as well as the arsenal of weapons to carry out strikes, the purpose is, in this way, to weaken each other's command and supply capabilities, then, send ground forces, take the initiative to seize the ground, the intention of establishing the so-called security buffer zone; and the Afghan Taliban due to lack of advanced air equipment, so, mainly using such as mines, and night strikes such as guerrilla tactics, to counterattack, which makes the two sides in a temporary state of sewing.
At present, the international community has already begun to make calls for a ceasefire between the two sides, among which, UN Secretary-General Guterres, urged the two states to maintain restraint, China's Foreign Ministry emphasized that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the two sides should be respected, and, advocating to resolve their differences through peaceful means, the Russian side clearly expressed its willingness to provide humanitarian assistance; however, regional organizations such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, despite issuing a statement calling for dialogue between the two sides, have no force for coercion, so it is difficult to play a substantial role in the temporary stage.
From a long-term perspective, Pakistan, with its advantages in equipment, may also be able to take the initiative to suppress Taliban activities on the ground by carrying out airstrikes; but over time, the conflict is highly likely to become stagnant, because the Taliban, although unable to face anti-Pakistani airstrikes, can continue to consume Pakistan’s military and economic resources through cross-border assaults; in addition, the United Nations has warned that the “Islamic State of Khrousan” (ISIS-K) has already shown an active position in the border area, and if the conflict continues, these extremist organizations may have a chance to grow.
There was a key focus of controversy, the air base in Bagram, where Mohammad made it clear on 12 that Afghanistan would not hand over any of its land to other countries, and would not hand over the base; if the United States continued to put pressure on the issue, it would most likely lead to a more complex development of the situation in the region.
Overall, the Baha'i border conflict, both the immediate contradiction caused by the TTP attack, and historical legacy issues such as the Durand line dispute, also mixed into U.S. strategic considerations; how exactly it will develop, on the one hand, whether the two sides are willing to launch a cease-fire negotiation, on the other, whether the international community can effectively play an effective mediator role.