Afghan official says four Afghan civilians were killed and five others wounded in border clashes.
Published On 7 Nov 20257 Nov 2025
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Talks in Istanbul between Pakistan and Afghanistan are at a deadlock, Islamabad said, a day after both sides accused each other of mounting border clashes that risked breaching a ceasefire brokered by Qatar.
The update on the talks by Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Friday came after an Afghan official said four Afghan civilians were killed and five others wounded in clashes between Pakistani and Afghan forces along their shared border despite the joint negotiations.
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There was no immediate comment from Kabul about the Pakistani claim.
In a statement thanking Turkiye and Qatar for mediating the talks, Tarar maintained that the Afghan Taliban has failed to meet pledges it made with the international community about curbing “terrorism” under a 2021 Doha peace accord.
Tarar said that Pakistan “will not support any steps by the Taliban government that are not in the interest of the Afghan people or neighboring countries.” He did not elaborate further, but added that Islamabad continues to seek peace and goodwill for Afghans but will take “all necessary measures” to protect its own people and sovereignty.
Ali Mohammad Haqmal, head of the Information and Culture Department in Spin Boldak, blamed Pakistan for initiating the shooting. However, he said Afghan forces did not respond amid ongoing peace talks between the two sides in Istanbul.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said Afghanistan initiated the shooting.
“Pakistan remains committed to ongoing dialogue and expects reciprocity from Afghan authorities”, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said.
The ministry said the ceasefire remained intact.
Andrabi said Pakistan’s national security adviser, Asim Malik, is leading the Pakistani delegation in the talks with Afghanistan. The Afghan side is being led by Abdul Haq Wasiq, director of general intelligence, according to Mujahid.
He said that Pakistan had handed over its demands to mediators “with a singular aim to put an end to cross-border terrorism,” and that “mediators are discussing Pakistan’s demands with the Afghan Taliban delegation, point by point.”
Strained ties
Islamabad accuses Kabul of harbouring armed groups, particularly the Pakistan Taliban (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP), which regularly claims deadly attacks in Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban deny sheltering the group.
Many Pakistan Taliban leaders and fighters are believed to have taken refuge in Afghanistan since the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in 2021, further straining ties between the two countries.
Turkiye said at the conclusion of last week’s talks that the parties had agreed to establish a monitoring and verification mechanism to maintain peace and penalise violators.
Fifty civilians were killed and 447 others wounded on the Afghan side of the border during clashes that began on October 9, according to the United Nations. At least five people died in explosions in Kabul that the Taliban government blamed on Pakistan.
The Pakistani army reported 23 of its soldiers were killed and 29 others wounded, without mentioning civilian casualties.
Proposed reform, introduced earlier this month in the Chilean Senate for debate, would grant the armed forces power to conduct identity checks and searches. File Photo by Elvis Gonzalez/EPA
SANTIAGO, Chile, Oct. 31 (UPI) — President Gabriel Boric has submitted a constitutional reform proposal to the Chilean Congress that would make the armed forces permanently responsible for security in border areas, aiming to curb organized crime and irregular migration.
Border control is handled by Carabineros de Chile, the national police, and when the armed forces are needed for specific security operations, the government must request congressional authorization every 90 days.
The proposed reform, introduced earlier this month in the Senate for debate, would grant the armed forces power to conduct identity checks and searches. It would also allow soldiers to detain individuals caught committing crimes and hand them over to the Carabineros de Chile, or the Investigative Police.
According to the reform bill, the current situation is described as troubling.
“Along with the impact of irregular migration on the country, social cohesion and public policies, this phenomenon has been exploited by transnational criminal organizations to expand illicit markets such as smuggling, human trafficking and drug trafficking, among others, as well as to facilitate the illegal entry or exit of gang members through unauthorized crossings,” the document states.
Days before the bill’s introduction, Boric said he was confident Congress would move quickly to approve the reform “because that is what Chileans expect.”
The National Prosecutor’s Office, the agency that investigates crimes in Chile, on Monday released its 2025 Organized Crime Report, revealing that at least 16 transnational criminal organizations are operating in the country, including Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, Colombia’s Los Shottas and the Trinitarios, active in the Dominican Republic and the United States.
Although drug trafficking remains the dominant criminal activity — accounting for nearly half of all income linked to organized crime in 2023 and 2024 — the report noted that crimes such as kidnapping and extortion showed the sharpest increases, while homicides dropped significantly.
The surge in irregular migration and organized crime has dominated Chile’s public and political agenda ahead of the elections. Presidential and congressional elections are set for Nov. 16, and the government is signaling its priorities through measures such as this proposed constitutional reform.
“One of the most prominent issues on the national agenda concerns crime and irregular migration, which people tend to see as connected,” political scientist Claudio Fuentes, director of the Institute for Social Science Research at Diego Portales University, told UPI.
He added that the reform proposal aims to show the government’s concern, “particularly that of the Chilean left, about border security, given the prominence the issue has gained and in the context of the presidential elections.”
Fuentes said the problem is that the government does not control either chamber of Congress, so the initiative will depend on opposition parties.
“It’s unlikely to be approved before the end of the administration [in March] because lawmakers are debating the 2026 budget in the middle of the parliamentary campaign. So this bill is more of a political gesture than a legislative measure likely to be discussed,” he said.
From Fuentes’ perspective, certain aspects must be addressed first.
Another bill pending in Congress would regulate the armed forces’ use of force in situations such as border control. Fuentes warned a risk exists that the military could operate under rules that might expose its members to legal consequences if they are accused of using excessive force in certain circumstances.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is initiating a leadership shakeup at a dozen or so offices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement to bring more aggressive enforcement operations across the U.S.
Some of the outgoing field office directors at ICE are anticipated to be replaced with leaders from Customs and Border Protection, according to news reports. Among the leaders targeted for replacement are Los Angeles Field Office Director Ernesto Santacruz and San Diego Field Office Director Patrick Divver, the Washington Examiner reported Monday.
The stepped up role of Border Patrol leaders in interior enforcement — which has historically been ICE territory — marks an evolution of tactics that originated in California.
For the record:
9:27 a.m. Oct. 29, 2025An earlier version of this article said Gregory Bovino, who heads the Border Patrol’s El Centro region, led a three-day raid in rural Kern County in late December. The raid occurred in early January.
In early January, Gregory Bovino, who heads the Border Patrol’s El Centro region, led a three-day raid in rural Kern County, nabbing day laborers more than 300 miles from his typical territory. Former Biden administration officials said Bovino had gone “rogue” and that no agency leaders knew about the operation beforehand.
Bovino leveraged the spectacle to become the on-the-ground point person for the Trump Administration’s signature issue.
The three-decade veteran of Border Patrol, who has used slick social media videos to promote the agency’s heavy-handed tactics, brought militarized operations once primarily used at the border into America’s largest cities.
In Los Angeles this summer, contingents of heavily armed, masked agents began chasing down and arresting day laborers, street vendors and car wash workers. Tensions grew as the administration ordered in the National Guard.
The efforts seem to have become more aggressive after a Supreme Court order allowed authorities to stop people based on factors such as race or ethnicity, employment and speaking Spanish.
Bovino moved operations to Chicago and escalated his approach. Immigration agents launched an overnight raid in a crowded apartment, shot gas into crowds of protesters and fatally shot one man.
Now Bovino is expected to hand-pick some of the replacements at ICE field offices, according to Fox News.
Tom Wong, who directs the U.S. Immigration Policy Center at UC San Diego, said the leadership changes are unsurprising, given Bovino’s strategies in Los Angeles and Chicago.
“The Trump administration is blurring the distinction between Border Patrol and ICE,” he said. “The border is no longer just the external boundaries of the United States, but the border is everywhere.”
Former Homeland Security officials said the large-scale replacement of executives from one agency with those from another agency is unprecedented.
The two agencies have similar authorities but very different approaches, said Daniel Altman, former head of internal oversight investigations at U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
ICE officers operate largely inside the country, lean heavily on investigations and typically know when they set out for the day who they are targeting.
Border Patrol, on the other hand, patrols the borderlands for anyone they encounter and suspect of entering illegally. Amid the rugged terrain and isolation, Border Patrol built a do-it-yourself ethos within the century-old organization, Altman said.
“Culturally, the Border Patrol prides itself on solving problems, and that means that whatever the current administration needs or wants with respect to immigration enforcement, they’re usually very willing and able to do that,” said Altman.
White House leadership has not been happy with arrest numbers. Stephen Miller, President Trump’s deputy chief of staff who is heading his immigration initiatives, set a goal of 3,000 immigration arrests per day, which the agency has not been able to meet.
DHS says it expects to deport 600,000 people by January, a figure that includes people who were turned back at the border or at airports.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant public affairs secretary for the Homeland Security department, didn’t confirm or deny the changes but described immigration officials as united.
“Talk about sensationalism,” she said. “Only the media would describe standard agency personnel changes as a ‘massive shakeup.’ If and when we have specific personnel moves to announce, we’ll do that.”
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, “The President’s entire team is working in lockstep to implement the President’s policy agenda, and the tremendous results from securing the border to deporting criminal illegal aliens speak for themselves.”
On Fox News on Tuesday, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said the administration is dedicated to achieving record deportations of primarily immigrants with criminal records.
“As far as personnel changes, that’s under the purview of the Secretary of Homeland Security,” he said. “I’m at the White House working with people like Stephen Miller, one of the most brilliant people I’ve ever met, to come up with strategic policies and plans — how to get success, how to maintain success, and how to get the numbers ever higher.”
Deborah Fleischaker, a former ICE and DHS official under the Biden administration, said the personnel moves appear to be an “attempt to migrate a Border Patrol ethos over to ICE.”
“ICE’s job has historically focused on targeting and enforcing against public safety threats,” she said. “Border Patrol has a much more highly militarized job of securing the border, protecting against transnational crime and drug trafficking and smuggling. That sort of approach doesn’t belong in our cities and is quite dangerous.”
Fleischaker said it would be difficult to increase deportations, even with Border Patrol leaders at the helm, because of the complexities around securing travel documents and negotiating with countries that are reticent to accept deportees.
In the meantime, she said, shunting well-liked leaders will sink morale.
“For the folks who are still there, everybody knows you comply or you risk losing your job,” she said. “Dissent, failure to meet targets or even ask questions aren’t really tolerated.”
On Tuesday, DHS posted a video montage of Bovino on its Instagram page set to Coldplay’s song “Viva la vida.” The caption read, “WE WILL NOT BE STOPPED.”
Times staff writer Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.
Entry to Lithuania still allowed for certain travellers, including EU citizens and humanitarian visa-holders.
Published On 29 Oct 202529 Oct 2025
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Lithuania is tightening its border with Belarus for a month after waves of balloons carrying contraband cigarettes entered its airspace.
Lithuania’s cabinet decided Wednesday to continue halting traffic at the Salcininkai crossing in the southeast until the end of November, while heavily restricting passage at its only other crossing, Medininkai, near the capital Vilnius, according to the BNS news agency.
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Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovic said the measures would “send a clear message to our not-so-friendly neighbour” over the balloon incursions, which disrupted air traffic at Vilnius airport over the weekend and prompted it to first close the two crossings.
Diplomats, Lithuanian citizens, nationals of the European Union and NATO member states and their family members, as well as foreigners with valid Lithuanian permits, will still be allowed to enter Lithuania through Medininkai, BNS reported. The exemption also applies to holders of humanitarian visas.
Passenger trains between Belarus and Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave wedged between Poland and Lithuania, will not be affected. Russians holding a transit document allowing travel to Kaliningrad can also still cross at Medininkai, according to Lithuanian officials.
Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said the restrictions could be extended. “We cannot fail to respond to a hybrid attack against Lithuania,” she told reporters.
The measure will primarily affect thousands of Belarusian workers who regularly travel between the two countries, but Lithuanian businesses that continue to work with Minsk will also be impacted, Ruginiene said.
‘Mad scam’
Belarus condemned Lithuania’s initial border closure after last week’s balloon incident and called on its neighbour to first look for accomplices within its own borders.
“Lithuanian politicians have decided to exploit the situation and place all the blame on Belarus, thus covering up their own inability (or unwillingness?) to find the smugglers’ contractors” inside Lithuania, said a statement by the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“If air balloons loaded with cigarettes are flying there, I guess they need to solve the issue on their end,” added Belarus’s President Alexander Lukashenko, noting that his country would apologise if its involvement is established.
Lithuania, a NATO and EU member on the Western alliance’s eastern flank, views the balloon disruption as a deliberate act of sabotage by Russia-allied Belarus.
Its concern is heightened by repeated drone intrusions into NATO’s airspace, which reached an unprecedented scale last month. Some European officials described the incidents as Moscow testing NATO’s response, which raised questions about how prepared the alliance is against Russia.
In Belgium, Defence Minister Theo Francken said an investigation was under way after “multiple drones were spotted again” overnight Tuesday into Wednesday above a military base in Marche-en-Famenne in the east of the country.
CHICAGO — A judge on Tuesday ordered a senior U.S. Border Patrol official to meet her each evening to discuss the government’s immigration crackdown in the Chicago area, an extraordinary step following weeks of street confrontations, tear gas volleys and complaints of excessive force.
“Yes, ma’am,” responded Greg Bovino, who has become the face of the Trump administration’s immigration sweeps in America’s big cities.
Bovino got an earful from U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis as soon as he settled into the witness chair in his green uniform.
Ellis quickly expressed concerns about video and other images from an illegal immigration drive that has produced more than 1,800 arrests since September. The hearing is the latest in a lawsuit by news outlets and protesters who say agents have used too much force, including tear gas, during demonstrations.
“My role is not to tell you that you can or cannot enforce validly passed laws by Congress. … My role is simply to see that in the enforcement of those laws, the agents are acting in a manner that is consistent with the Constitution,” the judge said.
Bovino is chief of the Border Patrol sector in El Centro, Calif., one of nine sectors on the Mexican border.
The judge wants him to meet her in person daily at 6 p.m. “to hear about how the day went.”
“I suspect, that now knowing where we are and that he understands what I expect, I don’t know that we’re going to see a whole lot of tear gas deployed in the next week,” Ellis said.
Ellis zeroed in on reports that Border Patrol agents disrupted a children’s Halloween parade with tear gas on the city’s Northwest Side over the weekend. Neighbors had gathered in the street as someone was arrested.
“Those kids were tear-gassed on their way to celebrate Halloween in their local school parking lot,” Ellis said. “And I can only imagine how terrified they were. These kids, you can imagine, their sense of safety was shattered on Saturday. And it’s going to take a long time for that to come back, if ever.”
Ellis ordered Bovino to produce all use-of-force reports since Sept. 2 from agents involved in Operation Midway Blitz. She first demanded them by the end of Tuesday, but Bovino said it would be “physically impossible” because of the “sheer amount.”
Lawyers for the government have repeatedly defended the actions of agents, including those from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and told the judge that videos and other portrayals have been one-sided.
Besides his court appearance, Bovino still must sit for a deposition, an interview in private, with lawyers from both sides.
The judge has already ordered agents to wear badges, and she’s banned them from using certain riot control techniques against peaceful protesters and journalists. She subsequently required body cameras after the use of tear gas raised concerns that agents were not following her initial order.
Ellis set a Friday deadline for Bovino to get a camera and to complete training.
Attorneys representing a coalition of news outlets and protesters claim he violated the judge’s use-of-force order in Little Village, a Mexican enclave in Chicago, and they filed an image of him allegedly “throwing tear gas into a crowd without justification.”
Over the weekend, masked agents and unmarked SUVs were seen on Chicago’s wealthier, predominantly white North Side, where video showed chemical agents deployed in a street. Agents have been recorded using tear gas several times over the past few weeks.
Bovino also led the immigration operation in Los Angeles in recent months, leading to thousands of arrests. Agents smashed car windows, blew open a door to a house and patrolled MacArthur Park on horseback.
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NATO member Lithuania today authorized the shooting down of balloons that cross the border from Russia’s ally Belarus, after as many as 66 balloons were spotted by Lithuanian radar overnight. The Lithuanian government has described the balloon incursion as a “hybrid attack” and has closed its border with Belarus — temporarily, for now. The balloon incident is the latest airspace incursion on NATO’s eastern flank, as tensions between the alliance and Russia grow against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.
Lithuania has also said it is considering calling for talks under NATO’s Article 4, which discusses a response when “the territorial integrity, political independence, or security of any of the parties is threatened.”
Lithuania spent much of last week battling balloons — literally.
– For 4 days over the last week, smuggling balloons from Belarus disrupted air traffic and shut down airports. – Officials call it a “crisis” and “psychological operation” meant to test Lithuania’s resilience. – In… pic.twitter.com/O8uoUFp2T5
Some of the helium balloons involved were assessed by Lithuanian authorities to weigh between 110 and 130 pounds, making them a significant threat to aircraft operating in Lithuanian airspace. Initially, it was reported that at least some of them were being used to smuggle goods — primarily cigarettes — across the border. These would typically be recovered once landed, using location tags to find them.
While the cigarette cargoes may well be true, it doesn’t rule out the possibility that the balloons were sent as a deliberate provocation, with, at the very least, Moscow’s approval. It may also be the case that Belarus is simply turning a blind eye to the contraband balloons, knowing they will drift into the airspace of its NATO neighbor.
The Lukashenka regime continues its hybrid war against 🇪🇺 — last night, more “weather balloons” crossed into Lithuania.
We support 🇱🇹’s firm response, while calling to keep the borders open for honest Belarusians.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė pledged to shoot down any further balloons disrupting the Lithuanian airspace.
This would likely involve Lithuania’s Air Defense Battalion, which is equipped with the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), the shorter-range RBS 70 and Avenger systems, as well as various man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS). The stocks of some of these systems have been depleted by transfers of equipment to Ukraine after the full-scale invasion.
A Lithuanian Air Defense Battalion NASAMS launcher deployed in defense of Vilnius Airport. Lithuanian Armed Forces
Lithuania does not operate fighter jets, but is protected by NATO’s Baltic Air Policing detachments, with Hungarian Air Force Gripens and Spanish Air Force Typhoons currently stationed at Šiauliai, in Lithuania. Ground-based air defense systems from other NATO members are similarly deployed to Lithuania on a rotational basis, too.
Spanish Air Force Typhoons take part in Operation Eastern Sentry, while deployed to Šiauliai in Lithuania, as the ‘Vilkas’ detachment. Spanish Air and Space Force
However, as we have discussed in detail in relation to balloons in U.S. airspace in 2023, even when these are very large targets, they are by no means easy to bring them down.
Lithuania has also now closed its roughly 400-mile eastern border with Belarus in what is currently described as a temporary move enacted by the country’s border force. The government is meanwhile discussing whether the border closure will be extended indefinitely, something that is expected to be approved during a government meeting planned for Wednesday. Belarus has described the temporary border closure as “a provocation.”
A map showing the border between Lithuania and Belarus, including the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. GoogleMaps
“No hybrid attack will be tolerated,” said Prime Minister Ruginienė at a press conference today. “We will take the strictest possible measures to stop such actions.”
Autocrats are once again testing the resilience of EU and NATO against hybrid threats.
In recent days, dozens of helium balloons from Belarus have entered our airspace – drifting toward major airports and disrupting civil aviation.
Deividas Matulionis, a senior advisor to the Lithuanian president, said the balloon incursions were part of a “hybrid psychological operation” seeking to disrupt the everyday life of Lithuanians. “We very much hope that immediate action will be taken, but there should also be very strong diplomatic action and certain legal measures, which should be approved … as soon as possible,” he said.
Without mentioning Russia directly, Ruginienė and Matulionis were pointing to the growing threat posed to NATO and the European Union by a variety of unorthodox types of warfare, ranging from sabotage of critical infrastructure to manipulation of the information space in an effort to undermine Western democracies. In such incidents, Russia has always denied any responsibility, but Western suspicions generally center around potential Kremlin motives, especially after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Europe stands in full solidarity with Lithuania in the face of the persistent incursions of helium smuggling balloons into its airspace.
This is destabilisation. This is provocation.
We call it by its name: a hybrid threat. We will not tolerate it.
Ruginienė explained that, if the border is closed indefinitely, there will be only very limited exceptions for Lithuanian and EU citizens, as well as diplomatic mail. “All other movement will be halted,” she confirmed.
The incursions overnight were the latest in a string of similar disruptions over the course of last week. Vilnius Airport, Lithuania’s biggest hub, was closed on four separate occasions. In total, more than 170 flights were disrupted by cancellations, diversions, and delays over the course of the week, the airport operator said.
This evening air traffic at Kaunas and Vilnius Airports was temporarily suspended. According to initial reports, the decision to restrict the airspace was caused by meteorological balloons. The airspace restrictions are in effect until 10:00 p.m.
Last Thursday, Lithuania summoned a Russian diplomat to protest what it says was the entry of two Russian military aircraft into its airspace.
The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense said a Russian Su-30 Flanker fighter and an Il-78 Midas tanker flying from Kaliningrad passed through Lithuanian airspace for around 2,300 feet before leaving after 18 seconds, probably during aerial refueling training.
The Russian SU-30 and IL-78 aircraft crossed about 700 metres into Lithuanian territory near Kybartai, staying in our airspace for 18 seconds.
This incident once again shows the reality of our region. Together with our Allies, we must keep strengthening our defence capabilities. https://t.co/njpFxMUoMM
Russia’s defense ministry denied the incursion had taken place. “The flights were conducted in strict compliance with the rules for using airspace above Russian territory. The aircraft … did not violate the borders of other states,” it said.
As to what comes next, Lithuania has said it is not ruling out Article 4 talks over the balloons. The procedure has only been used nine times in the alliance’s history. Most recently, it was triggered by Poland and Estonia after Russian airspace violations in September.
“Our response will determine how far autocrats dare to go,” Ruginienė said.
There have also been suggestions that Lithuania might extend the border closure to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, to the west, or at least restrict transit across the frontier.
The incursions in Lithuanian airspace follow an incident last month, during which three Russian MiG-31 Foxhound interceptors spent 12 minutes in Estonian airspace, as you can read about here.
Following a violation of Estonian air space, Swedish JAS 39 fighters intercepted and monitored three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets over the Baltic Sea today. Sweden is always ready to ensure the safety, security and integrity of our airspace together with our allies.#WeAreNATOpic.twitter.com/gpTbmngiKc
Ahead of that, Polish authorities counted 19 Russian drones that entered the country’s airspace, in what Polish authorities described as “an attempt to test our capabilities and responses.” Some of those drones were shot down by Polish and Dutch combat aircraft. You can catch up to our reporting on the incident in our story here.
Last night, Poland’s airspace was breached 19 times by drones manufactured in Russia. Our assessment is that they did not veer off course but were deliberately targeted.
Poland, EU and NATO will not be intimidated and we will continue to stand by the brave people of Ukraine.… pic.twitter.com/prAEqrIUKX
Overall, the last few months have seen unprecedented chaos for European civil aviation, with Russia being widely suspected as the main culprit. Other drone incursions have disrupted the airports in Copenhagen, Munich, and the Baltic region.
With the latest incidents in Lithuania, there’s a growing consensus in NATO and the EU that these airspace violations are not isolated incidents. Instead, in the words of Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys, they are “calculated provocations designed to destabilize, distract, [and] test NATO’s resolve.”
Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene spoke at a press conference in Warsaw, Poland, on Oct. 7. On Monday, she announced that Lithuania would close its border with Belarus after several balloons have invaded her country’s airspace. Photo by Pawel Supernak/EPA
Oct. 27 (UPI) — Lithuania will close its border with Belarus after balloons have continued to breach its airspace, Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė said Monday.
She said Lithuania will shoot down any balloons that enter the country.
“We are sending a signal to Belarus that no hybrid attack will be tolerated, and we are taking the strictest measures to stop such attacks,” Ruginienė said. “The armed forces will take all necessary measures, including kinetic measures to shoot down the balloons.”
The balloons are believed to be a tool of smugglers, which bring contraband cigarettes into the country. The border will stay open for EU nationals leaving Belarus and for diplomats.
Lithuania has had to shut down airspace over Vilnius for balloon intrusion at least four times last week and three times over the weekend. There were 170 flights disrupted.
Though the balloons aren’t sent by the government, Lithuania blames Belorussian President Alexander Lukashenko for his lack of action.
“Inaction is also an action,” Ruginienė said after a meeting of the National Security Commission on Monday. “If Belarus does nothing about it and does not fight, we also assess these actions accordingly.”
Lithuania is a member of NATO. Lukashenko is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Sunday night, the National Crisis Management Center said its radar detected 66 objects traveling from Belarus to Lithuania.
Lithuania Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said on X Monday that NATO was facing a “deliberate escalation of hybrid warfare from Russia and its proxy, Belarus,” calling recent airspace incursions, “calculated provocations designed to destabilize, distract and test NATO’s resolve.”
A Russian Sukhoi SU-30 fighter and an IL-78 tanker plane flew a half a mile into Lithuanian territory on Oct. 23, according to the country’s ministry of foreign affairs. It had departed from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, which shares borders with Lithuania and Poland.
Ruginienė said her country will push for more sanctions on Belarus at the European Union level. She also wouldn’t rule out invoking Article 4 of NATO, which calls for urgent discussions with allies when a member fears risk to its security.
Lithuania says balloons disrupting air traffic are sent by smugglers transporting contraband cigarettes from Belarus into the EU.
Published On 27 Oct 202527 Oct 2025
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Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene has said Lithuania will start to shoot down smuggler balloons crossing from Belarus and also shut its border crossings with the neighbouring country following repeated interruptions to its air traffic.
“Today we have decided to take the strictest measures, there is no other way,” Ruginiene told a news conference on Monday, saying the crossings will be closed except for travel by diplomats and by European Union citizens leaving Belarus.
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NATO and European Union member Lithuania closed Vilnius Airport four times last week after balloons entered its airspace. Each time, it temporarily shut its Belarus border crossings in response to the incidents.
Calling the incidents “hybrid attacks”, Ruginiene said her cabinet will meet on Wednesday to decide whether to prolong the closure of the Belarus border crossings, the BNS news agency reported.
She also said it may also discuss Lithuania invoking NATO Article 4, which states any member country can request a consultation with others whenever it believes its “territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened”.
European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos in recent weeks by drone sightings and other air incursions, including at airports in Copenhagen, Munich and the Baltic region.
Lithuania has said balloons are sent by smugglers transporting contraband cigarettes from Belarus into the EU, but the country also blames Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, for not stopping the practice.
There was no immediate comment from Belarus.
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who lives in exile in Lithuania, said in written comments to The Associated Press news agency that the balloon incidents were “yet another sign that the regime is using cigarette smuggling as a tool of hybrid aggression against Europe”.
On Thursday, Lithuania said two Russian military aircraft entered its airspace for about 18 seconds, prompting a formal protest and a reaction from NATO forces, while Russia denied the incident.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said recent airspace violations should not be regarded as isolated incidents.
“These are calculated provocations designed to destabilize, distract (and) test NATO’s resolve,” Budrys wrote on X.
Fighting comes as Taliban submits proposal at Pakistan-Afghanistan talks in Turkiye, while Islamabad warns of ‘open war’ if deal fails.
Published On 26 Oct 202526 Oct 2025
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Fresh clashes near the border with Afghanistan have killed at least five Pakistani soldiers and 25 fighters, Pakistan’s army says, even as the two countries hold peace talks in Istanbul.
The Pakistani military said armed men attempted to cross from Afghanistan into Kurram and North Waziristan on Friday and Saturday, accusing the Taliban authorities of failing to act against armed groups operating from Afghan territory.
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It said on Sunday that the attempted infiltrations raised questions over Kabul’s commitment to tackling “terrorism emanating from its soil”.
Afghanistan’s Taliban government has not commented on the latest clashes, but has repeatedly rejected accusations of harbouring armed fighters and instead accuses Pakistan of violating Afghan sovereignty with air strikes.
Delegations from both countries arrived in Istanbul, Turkiye on Saturday for talks aimed at preventing a return to full-scale conflict. The meeting comes days after Qatar and Turkiye brokered a ceasefire in Doha to halt the most serious border fighting since the Taliban takeover of Kabul in 2021.
The violence earlier this month killed dozens and wounded hundreds.
‘Open war’
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said the ceasefire remains intact and that Kabul appears interested in peace, but warned that failure in Istanbul would leave Islamabad with “open war” as an option.
Pakistan’s military described those involved in the weekend infiltrations as members of what it calls “Fitna al-Khwarij”, a term it uses for ideologically motivated armed groups allegedly backed by foreign sponsors.
United States President Donald Trump also weighed in on Sunday, saying he would “solve the Afghanistan-Pakistan crisis very quickly”, telling reporters on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia that he had been briefed on the ongoing talks.
Separately, Taliban-controlled broadcaster RTA said on Sunday that Kabul’s delegation in Turkiye had submitted a proposal after more than 15 hours of discussions, calling for Pakistan to end cross-border strikes and block any “anti-Afghan group” from using its territory.
The Afghan side also signalled openness to a four-party monitoring mechanism to supervise the ceasefire and investigate violations.
Afghanistan’s delegation is led by Deputy Interior Minister Haji Najib. Pakistan has not publicly disclosed its representatives.
Analysts expect the core of the talks to revolve around intelligence-sharing, allowing Islamabad to hand over coordinates of suspected Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters for the Taliban to take direct action, instead of Pakistan launching its own strikes.
Move to close Vilnius, Kaunas airports and border comes after helium balloons drifted into the country’s territory.
Published On 24 Oct 202524 Oct 2025
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NATO member Lithuania has closed its two biggest airports and shut crossings on its border with Belarus after helium weather balloons drifted into its territory, the third such incident in the Baltic nation this month.
European aviation has repeatedly been thrown into chaos in recent weeks by drone sightings and other air incursions, including at airports in Copenhagen, Munich and the Baltic region.
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The Vilnius and Kaunas airports were closed on Friday for safety reasons until 2am (23:00 GMT), while the Belarus border crossings will remain shut until midday on Sunday, authorities said.
Lithuania has said balloons are sent by smugglers transporting contraband cigarettes, but it also blames Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, for not stopping the practice.
“The National Security Commission will meet next week to assess … what can be done short-term that would be painful to the smugglers and to Lukashenko’s regime, which allows them to thrive,” Lithuania’s Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene said in a statement.
Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre said “tens of balloons” had been detected by radar on Friday.
Vilnius airport also closed on Tuesday of this week and on October 5, when smuggler balloons entered the capital city’s airspace, authorities said.
The incident comes after two Russian military aircraft briefly entered Lithuania’s airspace in what appeared to be a new provocation from Moscow.
Lithuania’s armed forces said in a statement that the two aircraft may have been conducting refuelling exercises in the neighbouring Russian exclave of Kaliningrad when they flew 700 metres (0.43 miles) into the country at 6pm local time (15:00 GMT) on Thursday.
“This is a blatant breach of international law and territorial integrity of Lithuania,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on X in response to that incursion, adding that his country would summon Russian embassy representatives to protest against reckless and dangerous behaviour.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence, however, denied the incursion had taken place.
It said the flights were conducted “in strict compliance” with rules and “did not deviate from their route and did not violate the borders of other states”.
Russian aircraft and drones have reportedly also violated airspace in Estonia and Poland in recent weeks.
The events have heightened anxiety that Russia’s Putin might be testing NATO’s defensive reflexes.
The incident is the first alleged defection of a North Korean soldier in more than a year.
Published On 19 Oct 202519 Oct 2025
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South Korea says it has taken a North Korean soldier into custody after he crossed the country’s heavily guarded border.
The soldier crossed the military demarcation line (MDL) that divides the peninsula on Sunday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, which said it “tracked and monitored” the soldier before securing him.
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South Korea’s military said it would investigate the circumstances of the soldier’s crossing – a relatively rare incident in the mine-strewn border zone between the two nations still technically at war.
South Korean media described the crossing near the central part of the border as a “defection”, with the Chosun Ilbo daily saying the soldier expressed his wish to defect after being approached by a South Korean soldier.
If confirmed, the soldier would join tens of thousands of North Koreans who have fled poverty and repression in North Korea since the peninsula was split by war in the 1950s. Last year, 236 North Koreans arrived in the South, with women accounting for 88 percent of the total.
The last time a soldier from North Korea, which derides defectors as “human scum”, escaped to the South was in August last year.
Most defectors, however, take a different route – escaping across North Korea’s border with China before eventually making their way to the South. Direct crossings between the two Koreas are relatively rare and extremely risky, as the border area is full of mines and well-monitored on both sides.
Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said the latest soldier who crossed the border may have been able to navigate the dangerous terrain due to his “likely familiarity with the area”.
“The latest crossing will not be received positively by Pyongyang, as he could provide the South with information on its troop movements and operations in the border area,” the analyst told the AFP news agency.
In July, a North Korean civilian crossed the border by foot in a 20-hour operation aided by the South’s military.
The latest crossing came four months after liberal politician Lee Jae-myung took office as South Korean president, following months of political chaos, which began with the conservative President Yoon Suk-yeol’s short-lived attempt to impose martial law in December.
Lee has taken a different stance from his predecessor on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, promising to “open a communication channel with North Korea and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula through talks and cooperation”.
Diplomatic efforts have stalled on the Korean Peninsula since the collapse of denuclearisation talks between Washington and Pyongyang in 2019 during the first United States President Donald Trump administration, after a series of Trump-Kim summits, globally watched spectacles that bore little concrete progress.
After days of cross-border fighting, Pakistan and Afghan Taliban authorities agreed a temporary ceasefire. The clashes have left dozens dead and injured. So, what’s behind the worst violence between the countries in years?
Oct. 15 (UPI) — U.S. border officials said Wednesday that more than a dozen undocumented migrants via Russia and former Soviet satellite states were taken into custody near Puerto Rico.
Border authorities intercepted a 41-foot sailboat carrying 13 migrants near Combate Beach on Puerto Rico’s west coast Sunday afternoon, officials said. Air and Marine Operations, part of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, tracked the vessel as it approached the shoreline with assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Puerto Rican Police’s Fuerzas Unidas de Rapida Accion unit.
“This successful interdiction demonstrates the unwavering commitment and vigilance of the Michel O. Maceda Marine Unit in protecting our nation’s borders,” Christopher Hunter, director of the Caribbean Air and Marine Branch, said in a statement.
Agents found 13 people aboard that included 10 unidentified men from Uzbekistan, a woman from Kyrgyzstan and two Russian men.
None of the undocumented suspects had official papers allowing legal entry to the United States.
Agents escorted the small yacht to the Michel O. Maceda Marine Unit for inspection, and the migrants were taken into custody and transferred to Homeland Security Investigations for processing, officials noted, “in good condition.”
Officials at America’s border agency added that the operation highlights ongoing efforts by CBP and the Caribbean Border Interagency Group to prevent illegal maritime activity and strengthen border security in the Caribbean region.
At least a dozen soldiers died in overnight cross border fighting between Talban and Pakistani forces Saturday into Sunday. It’s the latest spasm of violence to erupt between the two sides as tensions have escalated in recent months. Photo by Basit Gilani EPA-EFE
Oct. 12 (UPI) — Dozens of soldiers are dead following clashes along the Pakistani-Afghan border Saturday night into Sunday morning.
An attack by the Afghan Taliban on Pakistani military installations prompted the heavy exchange of military fire after Afghan troops opened fire along the northwest border and took control of several of the military posts, officials said.
The attacks followed alleged Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan territory, which included targets in Kabul, the capital earlier in the week.
Pakistan responded Sunday with gunfire and ground raids on Taliban posts at the border.
The Pakistani military said 23 soldiers were killed and at least 29 more wounded in the fighting. Officials said 200 Taliban-backed Afghan terrorists were killed in retaliatory strikes, and that Pakistani forces had dismantled Afghan terrorist training camps.
A spokesperson for Afghanistan‘s Taliban government said Sunday that a “significant amount” of Pakistani weapons had been recovered by Taliban forces in the clash.
The latest spasm of deadly violence marks the sharpest uptick in tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan in months, and surface amid Islamabad’s allegations that Afghanistan is harboring armed militants in Pakistan.
Deadly clashes erupted overnight between the Taliban and Pakistani forces across the Afghanistan border, with each side claiming to have captured or destroyed outposts. The fighting follows an alleged Pakistani air strike on Kabul on Thursday, which the Taliban called a violation of their sovereignty.
Heavy fighting has broken out between Pakistani and Afghan forces at multiple locations on their border, and the rival sides claim to have captured and destroyed border posts in one of the worst border clashes in recent years.
The Taliban administration’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said at least 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed in “retaliatory” attacks on Saturday night, two days after blasts were reported in the capital, Kabul, and the southeastern province of Paktika.
The Pakistani military admitted 23 of its soldiers were ‘martyred’ while claiming to kill 200 Taliban and affiliated “terrorists”. Earlier, Pakistan’s interior minister called the Afghan attacks “unprovoked firing”.
The Taliban government has accused Pakistan of carrying out the recent bombings. Pakistan has neither confirmed nor denied the allegations.
Pakistan is said to have backed Taliban fighters during their rebellion against the United States-led occupation of Afghanistan and was one of only three countries that recognised the first Taliban government from 1996 to 2001.
But the rise of attacks inside Pakistan since the return of the Taliban to power in 2021 has strained their ties as Islamabad has accused the Taliban administration of providing safe haven to fighters from the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Pakistan Taliban. Kabul has denied the allegations.
So what’s the latest on the fighting? What triggered the clashes? And is the situation expected to escalate further?
Pakistan accuses the TTP of carrying out attacks on its territory and the Afghan Taliban government of harbouring the group [File: Fayaz Aziz/Reuters]
What’s the latest?
The Taliban attack on Pakistan border areas began about 10pm (17:00 GMT) on Saturday, and the exchange of fire took place at multiple locations.
Pakistani officials and state-run radio noted that those locations included Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir and Chitral – all in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province – and Bahram Chah in Balochistan.
Mujahid said Afghan forces killed 58 Pakistani soldiers, captured 25 army posts and wounded 30 soldiers in their attacks.
“The situation on all official borders and de facto lines of Afghanistan is under complete control, and illegal activities have been largely prevented,” Mujahid said at a news conference in Kabul.
Afghanistan’s TOLOnews channel reported on Sunday that the Ministry of Defence is deploying tanks and heavy weapons in several areas of Kunar province on the 2,640km (1,640-mile) border, also referred to as the colonial-era Durand Line.
The Pakistani military on Sunday condemned what it called “the cowardly action” aimed at destabilising the border areas to facilitate terrorism”.
“Exercising the right of self-defence, the alert Armed Forces of Pakistan repelled the assault decisively,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said in a statement.
“Last night’s episode vindicates Pakistan’s long-standing position that the Taliban government is actively facilitating the terrorists,” ISPR said.
At least 29 soldiers were injured during the overnight skirmishes, it added.
The Pakistani military claimed that multiple Taliban locations were destroyed along the border and “21 hostile positions on the Afghan side of border were also briefly physically captured and multiple terrorist training camps, used to plan and facilitate attacks against Pakistan, were rendered inoperative”.
While the exchange of fire is mostly over, residents of Pakistan’s Kurram area reported intermittent gunfire.
A Taliban fighter walks in front of female protesters during an anti-Pakistan demonstration in Kabul on September 7, 2021 [West Asia News Agency via Reuters]
What triggered the clashes?
On Thursday, Kabul was rocked by the sound of two explosions, and another took place in a civilian market in the border province of Paktika, the Taliban Defence Ministry said on Friday.
The Taliban government accused Pakistan of violating Afghanistan’s “sovereign territory”. Islamabad did not outright deny the blasts but asked the Taliban to curb the activities of the Pakistan Taliban.
A Pakistani security official told the Reuters news agency air strikes were carried out and their intended target in Kabul was the leader of the TTP, who was travelling in a vehicle.
Al Jazeera could not independently verify if the leader, Noor Wali Mehsud, had survived.
Pakistan and the Taliban, once allies over shared security interests, have grown increasingly hostile over Islamabad’s claim that the Taliban is giving refuge to the TTP, an armed group accused of carrying out years of attacks inside Pakistan.
At least 2,414 fatalities have been recorded in the first three quarters of this year, according to the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), an Islamabad-based think tank.
In its latest report issued last month, CRSS said that if the current trend continues, 2025 could be one of the deadliest years in Pakistan. Last year, at least 2,546 people were killed in attacks.
The armed attacks have risen following the ouster of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in April 2022. Khan’s government had involved the Taliban to get the TTP to agree to ceasefire deal. Though the ceasefire deal unraveled during Khan’s tenure, the frequency of attacks remained lower.
Ties have deteriorated as Islamabad has increased its use of air strikes inside Afghanistan to target hideouts it says are used by TTP fighters.
Relations have also soured over Pakistan’s decision to deport tens of thousands of Afghan refugees. At least 3 million Afghan refugees have taken shelter in Pakistan after fleeing decades of conflict.
What have both sides said?
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the Afghan attacks late on Saturday, adding that the country’s army “not only gave a befitting reply to Afghanistan’s provocations but also destroyed several of their posts, forcing them to retreat”.
Mohsin Naqvi, the interior minister, said the Afghan attacks were “unprovoked” and civilians were fired at. Strongly condemning the Taliban’s attacks, he said: “The firing by Afghan forces on civilian populations is a blatant violation of international laws.”
“Afghanistan is playing a game of fire and blood,” he said in a post on X.
Enayatullah Khowarazmi, spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence, said its attacks on the Pakistan border posts were a retaliatory operation, adding that they concluded at midnight.
“If the opposing side again violates Afghanistan’s airspace, our armed forces are prepared to defend their airspace and will deliver a strong response,” Khowarazmi said.
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi speaks to the media near an Islamic seminary in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, India, on October 11, 2025 [Anushree Fadnavis/Reuters]
What has been the international response to the clashes?
The escalating tensions have prompted regional concern as they come amid rapidly changing security dynamics and relations in South Asia.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called on his country’s two neighbours “to exercise restraint”.
“Our position is that both sides must exercise restraint,” Araghchi said during a live interview with state television, adding that “stability” between the countries “contributes to regional stability”.
Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also urged “both sides to prioritise dialogue and diplomacy, exercise restraint, and work to contain the disputes in a way that helps reduce tension, avoids escalation, and contributes to regional peace and stability”.
Expressing concern, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “The kingdom calls for restraint, avoiding escalation, and embracing dialogue and wisdom to contribute to reducing tensions and maintaining security and stability in the region.”
“The kingdom affirms its support for all regional and international efforts aimed at promoting peace and stability and its continued commitment to ensuring security, which will achieve stability and prosperity for the brotherly Pakistani and Afghan peoples,” it added.
India, which is currently hosting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on his first visit there, has yet to comment on the border clashes. Islamabad has viewed New Delhi’s engagement with the Taliban with suspicion.
An Afghan girl and her family sit in a truck as they head back to Afghanistan at the Chaman border crossing on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Balochistan province after Pakistan ordered Afghans out of the country [File: Naseer Ahmed/Reuters]
Could these clashes escalate?
Asif Durrani, a former Pakistani ambassador and special representative to Afghanistan, told Al Jazeera he believes “the chances of this clash [spilling over] to something bigger and more serious [are] minimal.”
“Afghanistan does not have any conventional military capacity when compared to Pakistan,” Durrani said, adding, “Guerrilla warfare is not the same as conventional warfare, which is a whole different beast and something where Pakistan is considerably ahead of Afghanistan.”
Underlining that “diplomacy should always be given a chance, regardless of how dire the situation is,” Durrani noted that the TTP remains the central issue in the countries’ fraught relations.
“The Afghan government refuses to acknowledge their [the TTP’s] existence on their soil, and as long as that irritant remains present, the situation will remain tense,” he added.
Allied forces launch joint patrols near Russia after reports of drone incursions into allied airspace.
Published On 11 Oct 202511 Oct 2025
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The United Kingdom has said two Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft joined a 12-hour NATO patrol earlier this week near Russia’s border, following a series of Russian drone and aircraft incursions into alliance airspace.
“This was a substantial joint mission with our US and NATO allies,” Defence Minister John Healey said on Saturday, as concerns rise that Russia’s war in Ukraine will spill over into Europe.
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“Not only does this provide valuable intelligence to boost the operational awareness of our Armed Forces, but sends a powerful message of NATO unity to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and our adversaries,” he added.
The mission involved an RC-135 Rivet Joint surveillance jet and a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft flying from the Arctic region past Belarus and Ukraine, supported by a US Air Force KC-135 refuelling plane.
British officials said the operation followed several incursions into the airspace of NATO members, including Poland, Romania, and Estonia.
Growing airspace tensions
In recent weeks, Poland and its allies have reinforced air defences amid increasing Russian drone activity. Earlier this month, Warsaw deployed additional systems along its border with Ukraine – which stretches about 530km (330 miles) – after unidentified drones briefly entered Polish airspace.
Poland temporarily closed part of its airspace southeast of Warsaw in late September during a major Russian assault across Ukraine. It was the second such incident this year, with Polish and NATO forces previously intercepting Russian drones that crossed the border – marking their first direct military engagement with Moscow since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
Elsewhere, airports in Germany, Denmark, Norway and Poland have at times also temporarily suspended flights due to sightings of unidentified drones. Romania and Estonia have directly accused Russia, which has dismissed the claims as “baseless”.
Putin has pledged a “significant” response to what he called “Europe’s militarisation”, rejecting suggestions that Moscow plans to attack NATO as “nonsense”.
“They can’t believe what they’re saying, that Russia is going to attack NATO,” he said on Thursday at a foreign policy forum in Sochi. “They’re either incredibly incompetent if they truly believe it because it’s impossible to believe this nonsense, or they’re simply dishonest.”
Putin said he was closely monitoring Europe’s military build-up and warned that Russia would not hesitate to respond. “In Germany, for example, it is said that the German army should become the strongest in Europe. Very well. We hear that and are watching to see what is meant by it,” he said. “Russia will never show weakness or indecisiveness. We simply cannot ignore what is happening.”
Relations between Moscow and the European Union have continued to deteriorate since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, driving the bloc to strengthen its collective defences amid fears the war could spill across NATO borders.
Pakistan Taliban claims responsibility for attack on military convoy, leading to a deadly gunfight.
Published On 8 Oct 20258 Oct 2025
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Eleven military personnel have been killed in a gunfight with armed fighters in the country’s northwest, according to the Pakistani army.
The gun battle erupted early on Wednesday during an intelligence operation in the Orakzai district near the Afghan border, the army said in a news release.
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During the intelligence raid, the military said, an “intense” exchange of fire broke out with “Khawarij”, a term it uses for banned groups such as the Pakistan Taliban, which claimed responsibility for the attack.
Among the dead were Lieutenant Colonel Junaid Arif and his deputy, Major Tayyab Rahat, along with nine other soldiers. The army said 19 fighters were also killed.
The Reuters news agency, citing Pakistani security officials, reported that the fighters ambushed a military convoy with a roadside bomb before opening fire.
In a statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif lauded security forces for their service and paid tribute to the troops who lost their lives.
In recent months, the Pakistan Taliban, which wants to overthrow the government and replace it with their hardline brand of Islamic governance, has stepped up attacks on Pakistani security forces.
Islamabad says the group uses neighbouring Afghanistan to train and plan attacks against Pakistan, while archrival India funds and backs them, charges denied by both countries.
Words don’t mean much for Kacey Musgraves and Carín León as Texas meets Sonora in the music video for their latest single, “Lost in Translation.”
The song, which dropped in August, is about how intimate connections between people can transcend languages and borders.
The newly-released video shows the pair gallivanting across the streets of the vibrant and not-so-tourist-filled streets of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Interspersed between scenes of the two musicians dancing and longing for each other are standalone shots of young Vallartenses donning colorful outfits and interacting with wildlife, while older men play card games and young adults perform dance routines.
In a press release for the single, Musgraves expressed how essential Mexican music has been in her own musical journey and formation.
“Growing up singing traditional country and western music, I’ve always loved exploring the borders of country and where it blends with other styles like Norteño and some regional Mexican sounds I heard a lot of in Texas,” she said.
The recording session for the song came about when the duo warmed up by singing one of León’s favorite songs: Juan Gabriel and Rocío Dúrcal’s “Fue Un Placer Conocerte.”
The collaboration isn’t León’s first bilingual rodeo; he collaborated with country singer Kane Brown for the 2024 single “The One (Pero No Como Yo)” and teamed with Leon Bridges for 2024’s “It Was Always You (Siempre Fuiste Tú).”
Last month, it was announced that León would be the first Latino artist to headline Las Vegas’ Sphere next year. The Mexican singer is set to perform three concerts as part of the city’s Mexican Independence Day celebrations, which are scheduled for Sept. 11, 12 and 13, 2026.
Musgraves has long been a champion for Mexican music. At a recent show in Mexico City, Musgraves performed a rendition of the ranchera classic “Tú, Solo Tú” alongside Mariachi Oro de América.
“Mucho respeto to the Mexican community. This is a tribute to your endless passion, hard work and valiance. (I could literally cry right now as I’m typing this bc I love y’all so much),” Musgraves wrote in an Oct. 4 Instagram post. “I am forever inspired by you and the Ranchera spirit. See y’all at the carne asada?”
“I love the queen Selena just as much as you do,” she told the crowd at Houston’s NRG Stadium. “This is our chance to honor her, by singing as loud as we can together.”
