Torkham’s vibrant border marketplace became a sea of fire early Sunday when Pakistani shells hammered the Afghan town, destroying over 150 shops in a blaze that officials peg at $300 million in losses. The barrage struck near 4 AM, as confirmed by Mayor Mawlawi Abdullah Mustafa, transforming a key trade zone into wreckage.
Responders sprang into action with four fire trucks, water carriers, and resident brigades, but the flames proved relentless, fueled by the dense commercial layout. This vital crossing, teeming with cross-border commerce, now faces an uncertain future amid the rubble.
Traders voice alarm over ongoing threats to adjacent neighborhoods, warning that persistent violence from across the line endangers jobs and growth in the already strained frontier economy.
Recent days have seen intensified fighting. On Friday, Taliban spokesmen claimed victory over Pakistani forces, reporting 30 soldiers killed during seizures of outposts in Kandahar and Paktia. Explosives leveled captured sites, including in Shorabak and Dand Patan, according to Inayatullah Khwarazmi.
The feud reignited February 27 with Afghan strikes on Pakistani positions, avenging an earlier anti-terror raid. Pakistan countered via ‘Operation Ghaib Lil-Haq,’ decrying Afghan provocations. With casualties rising and economies reeling, the Afghanistan-Pakistan border teeters on the edge of all-out conflict, demanding international attention.