A Catholic priest has called for peace and cooperation amid renewed fighting along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border that has left dozens dead and hundreds injured.
“Terrorism is a problem that affects both Pakistan and Afghanistan. To fight it together, we need an alliance, not another war,” said Father Mario Angelo Rodrigues of the Archdiocese of Karachi in an interview with Fides News Agency.
The priest expressed “sadness and concern” about the new conflict on the border, adding, “We must not lose sight of the most important thing for our people and neighboring peoples: peace.”
Father Rodrigues, who serves as principal of St. Patrick’s Catholic High School in Karachi — one of the city’s most respected institutions with over 4,000 students from Christian, Muslim, and Hindu backgrounds — said that education remains central to building peace.
“We continue to speak to our young people about the importance of a culture of peace and raise awareness about it,” he told Fides.
He added that Catholic communities in Pakistan “pray intensely for peace every Sunday and address their prayers to God for reconciliation both between Pakistan and India and between Pakistan and Afghanistan.”
The priest observed that widespread poverty keeps many Pakistanis from paying attention to regional conflicts, as most people are preoccupied with daily survival and providing food for their families.
Fighting has intensified along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border since October 11. On the night of October 14–15, more than 10 Afghan civilians were killed and over 100 injured, according to reports.
Pakistani security officials accused Afghan troops of “unprovoked shelling” in Kurram, a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The Pakistani army said it killed 30 Afghan Taliban fighters in Afghanistan’s Khost province and destroyed a training center used by the Pakistani Taliban.
The Taliban government in Kabul, however, claimed to have killed 58 Pakistani soldiers in retaliation for what it called “repeated violations of Afghan territory and airspace.”
Kabul also accused Pakistan of launching airstrikes in Kandahar province, while Pakistan blamed the Taliban for orchestrating cross-border attacks.
Although fighting briefly halted on October 12 following mediation efforts by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, hostilities soon resumed, underlining deepening tensions between the two nations.
Pakistan accuses the Taliban of harboring the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has carried out numerous attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegations.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have worsened since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Between January and September 2025 alone, more than 500 people — including 311 soldiers and 73 police officers — have been killed in various clashes.
