Heavy Casualties Reported as Pakistan Hits Taliban Strongholds
News Desk
Islamabad: Pakistan launched a wide-ranging military response along the Pakistan–Afghanistan frontier overnight after what officials described as unprovoked cross-border attacks by the Afghan Taliban regime, dramatically escalating tensions between the two neighbours.
Security sources said Pakistan Air Force jets struck multiple targets inside Afghanistan, including a major ammunition depot in Nangarhar province, as part of an operation dubbed “Ghazab-lil-Haqq”.
The retaliatory action followed what Islamabad termed coordinated aggression against Pakistani positions along the border.
Escalation and Casualty Claims
According to official figures shared at different stages of the operation, as many as 133 Afghan Taliban personnel were killed and over 200 wounded in the latest exchanges.
Earlier updates had put the toll at 72 killed and more than 120 injured. Officials said additional casualties were estimated across military targets in Kabul, Paktia and Kandahar.
Prime Minister’s spokesperson for foreign media, Mosharraf Zaidi, said in an update at 3:45am that Pakistani counter-strikes were ongoing and had significantly degraded Afghan Taliban positions.
He said 27 Taliban posts were destroyed and nine captured in one phase of the operation, while an earlier assessment cited 16 posts destroyed and seven seized.
Key infrastructure reportedly hit included two corps headquarters, three brigade headquarters, two ammunition depots, a logistics base, three battalion headquarters and two sector headquarters.
More than 80 tanks, artillery guns and armoured personnel carriers were said to have been destroyed in the broader operation, with earlier estimates placing the number at over 36.
Zaidi maintained that no Pakistani post had been captured or damaged. “As of right now, there have been no Pakistani soldiers captured, nor any Pakistani soldiers martyred,” he said in an earlier social media statement, dismissing reports of Pakistani losses as “fantasy” driven by what he described as Indian proxies operating from Afghan soil.
He warned that any aggression would be met with an immediate and effective response.
Strikes Across Multiple Provinces
Security sources said Pakistani forces destroyed 12 Afghan border posts and took control of five others, hoisting the national flag on the captured positions.
Beyond the Nangarhar depot, strikes were reported in Kandahar province, where an ammunition depot and a logistics base were destroyed, and in Paktia province, where a core Taliban headquarters was hit.
Three Afghan battalions and a sector headquarters were said to have been completely destroyed in the latest phase of the operation.
More than 30 tanks, artillery guns and armoured personnel carriers were also destroyed, according to officials.
Pakistani forces reportedly destroyed the Dawood post and another check post in Angoor Adda, captured a check post in Paktika province and blew up another in the Wali Khan sector near the border. Taliban positions at the Kharlachi terminal, a key crossing in Kurram district, were also targeted.
In the Mohmand sector, Afghan Taliban posts were reportedly abandoned as fighters retreated under pressure. Officials also confirmed that key Taliban military installations in Kabul, including two brigade headquarters, were destroyed.
Security sources further claimed that Afghan attempts to attack Pakistani check posts using quadcopters failed, with all drones shot down. Pakistani forces were said to be using both light and heavy weapons, as well as drones, in their response.
Pakistan Confirms Losses
While earlier official statements denied any Pakistani casualties, Federal Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar later confirmed that two Pakistani soldiers were martyred and three wounded in the exchanges.
He said 36 Afghan Taliban operatives were killed and several others injured in one phase of the clashes.
Tarar accused the Afghan Taliban regime of initiating hostilities and then spreading “false and baseless propaganda” on social media to deflect attention from setbacks. He alleged that Afghan Taliban-linked and Indian social media accounts were circulating misleading information.
He also said Pakistan had conducted a successful operation against “Fitna al-Khawarij” militants ,a term used by the government for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and claimed that cross-border firing from the Afghan side in defence of these militants had exposed Kabul before the international community.
Broader Context
The latest escalation comes days after intelligence-based airstrikes along the border reportedly killed more than 100 militants in seven camps and hideouts linked to Fitna al-Khawarij.
Those strikes were carried out in Nangarhar, Paktika and Khost provinces in response to recent suicide attacks inside Pakistan, security sources said.
In a statement on X, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said the Afghan Taliban had miscalculated by opening unprovoked fire on multiple locations across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
It said Taliban regime forces were being “delivered punishment” in Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram and Bajaur sectors.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry told Geo News that Pakistan was taking necessary measures to respond to unprovoked Afghan actions and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to territorial integrity.
“No one will be allowed to take away Pakistan’s peace,” he said, adding that Pakistan would go to any extent to ensure the safety of its citizens and calling on Afghanistan to become a peaceful neighbour.
Referring to the Doha Agreement, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani said Pakistan had shared evidence of militant activity with the Afghan Taliban but no action was taken. He stressed that Afghanistan had pledged not to allow its territory to be used against any country, but a lack of will had hindered implementation.
Kayani said Pakistan desired peace but that its intentions should not be mistaken for weakness.
Political Reactions
Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui condemned the Taliban’s actions, accusing them of acting as proxies for India. He praised Pakistan’s armed forces and said the nation’s sovereignty would remain intact.
Officials across the government reiterated that Pakistan would continue to respond decisively to any aggression and would not allow what they described as misinformation campaigns to distort the situation on the ground.
There was no immediate response from the Taliban authorities in Kabul.
Pakistan responded to Afghan Taliban aggression with vigilance, strength: Tarar
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Friday said Pakistan responded with vigilance and strength to unprovoked aggression by the Afghan Taliban.
Speaking to PTV, the minister stated that Pakistan’s armed forces had effectively employed their professional capabilities to safeguard the motherland under testing circumstances.
He said the robust response had forced the Afghan Taliban on the back foot, leaving them in a state of uncertainty and resorting to spreading fake news on social media.
Tarar noted that even an international news channel fell victim to the fabricated reports circulated by the Afghan Taliban, and was later compelled to delete its tweet.
Highlighting the retaliatory measures, the minister said Pakistan’s security forces destroyed key Taliban ammunition depots and battalion headquarters.
He added that the Pakistan Air Force carried out precision strikes against Taliban defensive positions in Kandahar, Kabul and Paktia.
“Pakistan’s armed forces have once again demonstrated that any aggression or hostile designs against the country will be met with an iron hand,” Tarar asserted.
He emphasized that the nation stands firmly with its armed forces, whose professionalism and effective response had brought pride to the country.
The minister said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also lauded the timely and courageous action of the armed forces under the leadership of Chief of the Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and commended their preparedness and professionalism in safeguarding national security and sovereignty.
Reiterating Pakistan’s stance, Tarar said the use of Afghan territory for attacks against Pakistan was unacceptable, adding that this would not be tolerated under any circumstances.
The terrorists trained on Afghan soil continue to carry out attacks inside Pakistan, and any such acts of aggression will be met with a firm and decisive response, he stressed.
