At least five Pakistani soldiers and 25 militants were killed in clashes near the border with Afghanistan, the military said on Sunday. The attacks come as Afghan and Pakistani delegations hold talks in Istanbul following the recent ceasefire. The clashes between their armies earlier this month marked the worst border fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power in 2021.

Pakistan alleges attempted border incursions

The Pakistani military’s media wing, ISPR, said that Afghan militants tried to cross the border at two locations in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The military said that the timing “cast doubts on intentions of interim Afghan government with regards to addressing the issue of terrorism emanating from its soil.”

It added that the interim Afghan government “is expected to fulfil its obligations of Doha Agreement and deny the use of Afghan soil” against Pakistan.

Pakistan warns of ‘open war’ if peace talks fail

After the fighting that left soldiers and civilians dead, both countries declared an initial 48-hour ceasefire, which collapsed two days later.

A second truce mediated by Qatar and Turkey was reached last Sunday.

Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday said the truce was holding, adding that he believed Afghanistan wanted peace.

But Asif warned that failure to reach an agreement in Istanbul could lead to “open war.”

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said he would get the conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan solved “very quickly.”

“Although I heard that Pakistan and Afghanistan have started up, but I’ll get that solved very quickly,” Trump said on the sidelines of an ASEAN summit in Kuala Lumpur.