Pakistan’s interior ministry on Sunday accused Afghanistan of “playing a game of fire and blood,” as fierce border clashes erupted between the two neighbours.

The ministry’s statement, released on social media, condemned what it called “unprovoked firing” by Afghan forces targeting Pakistani civilians — a move Islamabad described as a “blatant violation of international law.”

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi vowed stern retaliation, invoking India in his remarks by saying, “Afghanistan will also be given a befitting reply like India, so that it will not dare to look at Pakistan with a malicious eye.”

The reference to India reflected Islamabad’s intent to equate the ongoing Afghanistan border crisis with past hostilities against its “eternal enemy.”

The statement came hours after intense overnight fighting broke out along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, with the Taliban government claiming its forces acted “in retaliation” to alleged Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul on Friday.

Taliban officials claimed to have seized 25 Pakistani army posts, killed 58 soldiers, and injured 30 others. Kabul’s spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid asserted that Afghan borders were “under complete control” and warned of further retaliation if Pakistan violated Afghan sovereignty again.

Tensions have rapidly deepened as both sides exchange accusations of cross-border aggression and sponsoring militancy. Islamabad accused Kabul of allowing terrorist elements to operate from Afghan soil, while the Taliban condemned Pakistan’s “wrong act” of airstrikes, urging dialogue instead of conflict escalation.

Complicating the crisis is Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s current visit to India, coinciding with the border clashes. Pakistan has protested certain elements of the India-Afghanistan joint statement, particularly the acknowledgment of Jammu and Kashmir as part of India, calling it a “violation of UN resolutions.”

The diplomatic strain follows Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent claim at the UN that his country “emerged victorious” in its conflict with India — a statement strongly rebuked by India’s envoy Petal Gahlot, who said destroyed infrastructure “is not a sign of victory.”

Following the fresh clashes, Islamabad temporarily sealed multiple border crossings with Afghanistan, while both sides reinforced troop deployments. With mounting casualties and rising rhetoric, the volatile frontier has once again become a flashpoint threatening broader regional stability.

Agencies