The recent deadly clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan will have a high risk of recurring over the coming weeks, while the two countries' entrenched disputes will challenge international efforts to prevent their re-emergence in the coming months and probably beyond. Late on Oct. 11, Afghan Taliban fighters opened fire on Pakistani security forces along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, fueling hours of the most intense clashes reported between the two sides since the Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in August 2021. Both sides reported inflicting heavy casualties on the other, while claiming to have sustained far fewer casualties themselves. They also reported striking and/or capturing dozens of the other's border outposts during the violence. These allegations, however, have not yet been independently verified. The border clashes followed a series of attacks targeting Pakistani security forces in northwest Pakistan on Oct. 10, which killed 23 people, including a handful of civilians. The attacks...
