World Conflicts
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Afghanistan–Pakistan conflict

Active High intensity Interstate Asia 11 Oct 2025 to present

Border clashes in October 2025 became open war in late February 2026. Pakistan says it is striking TTP and other militant camps; Afghanistan's Taliban authorities deny sheltering them. Ceasefires and China-hosted talks have not held, and air strikes and border fighting resumed in September 2026. Classified as an armed conflict rather than a single operation: two-sided, multi-phase hostilities.

Conflict zones

Click a shape for details and sources

Zones, lines of contact and strike arcs are approximate and illustrative, drawn from public reporting. They are not authoritative; click a shape for its sources. Borders from Natural Earth, with Crimea shown as part of Ukraine in line with UN General Assembly resolution 68/262.

Key facts

Afghan civilian casualties in 2026
Over 1,100 killed and injured (UNAMA)
Al Jazeera as of 1 Oct 2026
Kabul drug rehabilitation hospital strike (16 Mar 2026)
At least 269 killed, 122 wounded (UN); Afghan authorities said over 400
Al Jazeera as of 12 May 2026
Afghan Taliban killed (Pakistan government claim)
641 killed, 12 Pakistani soldiers killed (claims by Pakistan, not independently verified)
Express Tribune (Pakistani officials) as of 11 Mar 2026
'Open war' declared by Pakistan
27 Feb 2026 (Operation Ghazab lil-Haq)
All India Radio News as of 27 Feb 2026
Border closure by Pakistan
Since 11 Oct 2025
Gulf News (CRSS report) as of 1 Jan 2026
Reported fatalities, last 4 weeks (ACLED)
115
ACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026

Human cost

Fatalities
372
  • 372 confirmedUNAMA via Al Jazeera as of 31 Mar 2026Afghan civilians killed in cross-border violence, 1 Jan-31 Mar 2026 only (397 also injured); UN-verified
People displaced
66K
  • 66,000 reportedIOM via GlobalSecurity.org as of 4 Mar 2026Nearly 66,000 displaced in eastern and southeastern Afghanistan by the escalation; early-March snapshot
All forcibly displaced, country-wide (UNHCR)
7.3M
Recorded events, last 30 days
99

Parties and actors

  • Pakistan Armed Forces State armed forces · aligned with Pakistan
  • Afghan de facto (Taliban) security forces De facto state armed forces · aligned with Afghanistan

Parties are listed factually by name and role. Inclusion does not imply any judgement.

Negotiations

Negotiations hub
Doha ceasefire Stalled
Parties
Pakistan, Afghanistan (Taliban authorities)
Mediators
Qatar, Turkey
Last development
19 Oct 2025

Both sides agreed in Doha to an immediate ceasefire and follow-up talks after a week of deadly clashes. Follow-up talks in Istanbul faltered, and fighting resumed on a larger scale in February 2026.

Al Jazeera as of 19 Oct 2025
Urumqi talks Stalled
Parties
Pakistan, Afghanistan (Taliban authorities)
Mediators
China
Last development
7 Apr 2026

China hosted informal talks from 1 to 7 April 2026. The sides agreed to keep talking and avoid escalation, but cross-border strikes and clashes resumed later in the year.

US News / AP as of 8 Apr 2026

Trend: events and reported fatalities by month

Events per month Reported fatalities per month
0 0 125 250 250 500 375 750 500 1KNov 2021: 134 events, 192 reported fatalitiesDec 2021: 168 events, 188 reported fatalitiesJan 2022: 258 events, 357 reported fatalities2022Feb 2022: 206 events, 275 reported fatalitiesMar 2022: 210 events, 217 reported fatalitiesApr 2022: 333 events, 595 reported fatalitiesMay 2022: 258 events, 396 reported fatalitiesJun 2022: 255 events, 522 reported fatalitiesJul 2022: 221 events, 418 reported fatalitiesAug 2022: 182 events, 390 reported fatalitiesSep 2022: 190 events, 377 reported fatalitiesOct 2022: 185 events, 320 reported fatalitiesNov 2022: 117 events, 128 reported fatalitiesDec 2022: 116 events, 164 reported fatalitiesJan 2023: 89 events, 114 reported fatalities2023Feb 2023: 91 events, 81 reported fatalitiesMar 2023: 87 events, 100 reported fatalitiesApr 2023: 97 events, 106 reported fatalitiesMay 2023: 82 events, 78 reported fatalitiesJun 2023: 49 events, 49 reported fatalitiesJul 2023: 89 events, 52 reported fatalitiesAug 2023: 113 events, 154 reported fatalitiesSep 2023: 92 events, 106 reported fatalitiesOct 2023: 58 events, 91 reported fatalitiesNov 2023: 71 events, 89 reported fatalitiesDec 2023: 63 events, 52 reported fatalitiesJan 2024: 82 events, 84 reported fatalities2024Feb 2024: 65 events, 47 reported fatalitiesMar 2024: 88 events, 130 reported fatalitiesApr 2024: 61 events, 79 reported fatalitiesMay 2024: 73 events, 113 reported fatalitiesJun 2024: 96 events, 128 reported fatalitiesJul 2024: 114 events, 120 reported fatalitiesAug 2024: 102 events, 131 reported fatalitiesSep 2024: 84 events, 133 reported fatalitiesOct 2024: 91 events, 107 reported fatalitiesNov 2024: 114 events, 117 reported fatalitiesDec 2024: 80 events, 136 reported fatalitiesJan 2025: 79 events, 55 reported fatalities2025Feb 2025: 104 events, 136 reported fatalitiesMar 2025: 58 events, 84 reported fatalitiesApr 2025: 53 events, 58 reported fatalitiesMay 2025: 73 events, 55 reported fatalitiesJun 2025: 35 events, 33 reported fatalitiesJul 2025: 53 events, 49 reported fatalitiesAug 2025: 93 events, 76 reported fatalitiesSep 2025: 73 events, 61 reported fatalitiesOct 2025: 89 events, 198 reported fatalitiesNov 2025: 69 events, 76 reported fatalitiesDec 2025: 55 events, 59 reported fatalitiesJan 2026: 72 events, 51 reported fatalities2026Feb 2026: 181 events, 151 reported fatalitiesMar 2026: 151 events, 344 reported fatalitiesApr 2026: 77 events, 62 reported fatalitiesMay 2026: 71 events, 58 reported fatalitiesJun 2026: 77 events, 91 reported fatalitiesJul 2026: 104 events, 63 reported fatalitiesAug 2026: 170 events, 221 reported fatalitiesSep 2026: 103 events, 120 reported fatalitiesOct 2026: 99 events, 115 reported fatalities
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026 Political violence events only (battles, explosions/remote violence, violence against civilians). Selected provinces only, matching this conflict's area.
Show data table
MonthEventsFatalities
Oct 202699115
Sep 2026103120
Aug 2026170221
Jul 202610463
Jun 20267791
May 20267158
Apr 20267762
Mar 2026151344
Feb 2026181151
Jan 20267251
Dec 20255559
Nov 20256976
Oct 202589198
Sep 20257361
Aug 20259376
Jul 20255349
Jun 20253533
May 20257355
Apr 20255358
Mar 20255884
Feb 2025104136
Jan 20257955
Dec 202480136
Nov 2024114117
Oct 202491107
Sep 202484133
Aug 2024102131
Jul 2024114120
Jun 202496128
May 202473113
Apr 20246179
Mar 202488130
Feb 20246547
Jan 20248284
Dec 20236352
Nov 20237189
Oct 20235891
Sep 202392106
Aug 2023113154
Jul 20238952
Jun 20234949
May 20238278
Apr 202397106
Mar 202387100
Feb 20239181
Jan 202389114
Dec 2022116164
Nov 2022117128
Oct 2022185320
Sep 2022190377
Aug 2022182390
Jul 2022221418
Jun 2022255522
May 2022258396
Apr 2022333595
Mar 2022210217
Feb 2022206275
Jan 2022258357
Dec 2021168188
Nov 2021134192

Events by type

Battles Explosions / remote violence Violence against civilians
0 125 250 375 500 20222023202420252026
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026

Most affected provinces

  1. Kabul (Afghanistan) 143 events · 384 fatalities
  2. Badakhshan (Afghanistan) 117 events · 137 fatalities
  3. Kunar (Afghanistan) 112 events · 93 fatalities
  4. Nangarhar (Afghanistan) 94 events · 82 fatalities
  5. Herat (Afghanistan) 80 events · 64 fatalities
  6. Kandahar (Afghanistan) 78 events · 63 fatalities
  7. Khost (Afghanistan) 56 events · 48 fatalities
  8. Paktika (Afghanistan) 49 events · 41 fatalities
reportedACLED aggregated data, up to week of 24 Oct 2026 as of 24 Oct 2026 Last 12 months, political violence events.

Sources and further reading

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