Violent clashes broke out along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border late Saturday night after unprovoked attacks by Afghan Taliban forces targeted multiple posts. The Pakistani military responded strongly to the attacks, security forces said.
In a rapid and intense response, Pakistani forces did indeed attack several Afghan border posts, security officials confirmed. There are reports of significant damage inflicted on multiple Afghan militant outposts and formations, according to security sources.
The Pakistan Army is reportedly using artillery, tanks, light and heavy weapons in its response, security sources added.
The clashes broke out after Kabul accused Islamabad of carrying out airstrikes against the Afghan capital earlier this week, according to Taliban border forces.
“In retaliation for airstrikes by Pakistani forces,” Taliban border forces in the east are “engaged in heavy clashes against Pakistani forces’ posts in several border areas,” the Afghan army said in a statement.
Taliban officials in Kunar, Nangarhar, Paktika, Khost and Helmand provinces, all located on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, confirmed that fighting was ongoing.
Islamabad did not confirm that it was behind the attacks, but called on Kabul “to stop harboring the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on its territory.”
A later statement from security sources said: “Several Afghan soldiers were killed and Kharijite formations retreated due to effective and intense retaliation by Pakistani forces. Afghan posts do not provide covering fire to Kharijites. Reports of heavy losses in several Afghan posts and Kharijite formations.
“The hideouts of Kharijites and Daesh inside Afghanistan, operating under the patronage of the interim Afghan government, are being effectively attacked. Pakistan is using artillery, tanks, light and heavy weapons. In addition, aerial assets and drones are also being used to attack the hideouts of Daesh and Kharijite. The headquarters of the Afghan forces, which have been protecting Daesh and Fitna al-Khawarij, are also being attacked.”
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He said Pakistan was currently “striking with great precision terrorist camps and hideouts of Khawarij, ISIS located near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border inside Afghanistan. Afghan forces have withdrawn from several areas.”
Last week was particularly loaded with statements from both sides, as Pakistan suffered a series of martyrdoms by security forces in intelligence-based operations, while Afghanistan accused the former of violating its sovereignty.
The issue of terrorists using Afghan soil against Pakistan, along with frequent border skirmishes, has long strained ties between the two countries, and Islamabad has repeatedly urged the interim Afghan government to stop allowing its territory to be used for attacks.
Islamabad maintains its patience is wearing thin after a series of deadly attacks inside Pakistan that it blames on militants operating from Afghan territory. “Enough is enough, the patience of the Pakistani government and armed forces has run out,” Asif had said in the National Assembly on Thursday.
Kabul, however, denies accusations of providing safe haven to these groups. Meanwhile, Afghan officials publicly blamed Pakistan a day ago. The Afghan Defense Ministry said: “Once again, Pakistan violated Afghan airspace, bombed a civilian market in Paktika airspace near the Durand Line and also violated the territory of the capital Kabul.”
Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi visited India earlier this week, marking India’s first high-level engagement with the Taliban government since it came to power in 2021.
Speaking about the Thursday night explosion in Kabul during a press conference in New Delhi a day ago, Muttaqi condemned the incident and condemned Pakistan for its alleged role in it.
Earlier, Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry did not respond directly when asked if Pakistan was responsible for the attacks. “To safeguard the lives and properties of Pakistanis, necessary measures will be taken,” he told reporters.
The Foreign Ministry had avoided directly acknowledging the attacks in Kabul and instead framed Pakistan’s counterterrorism actions as self-defense against militants operating from Afghan soil.
At a separate press conference in Peshawar, held almost simultaneously with the FO briefing, military spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry also refused to confirm or deny whether the military had carried out attacks in Kabul. However, he stressed Pakistan’s right and determination to defend itself. “Afghanistan is being used as a base of operations to carry out terrorism in Pakistan. There is evidence of this too,” he said.
