Afghanistan’s Taliban administration has announced the launch of “large-scale” retaliatory military operations against Pakistani border posts following recent airstrikes attributed to Pakistan. Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, announced on X that the Afghan forces have captured 15 posts, capturing many Pakistani soldiers – some of them alive.
The operations were initiated along the disputed Durand Line in response to what he described as repeated provocations and violations by Pakistani military forces. Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat, the Chief of Army Staff in the Taliban administration, is personally leading the Mujahideen forces, according to Taliban claims. The group says its top military leadership is directly supervising field operations amid the ongoing border clashes.
“In response to repeated provocations and violations by Pakistani military circles, large-scale offensive operations have been launched against Pakistani military positions and installations along the Durand Line,” Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Taliban administration, said in a post on X.
“The number of posts captured from the enemy has reached 15, numerous soldiers have been killed, and some have also been captured alive,” he added.
He further stressed that Taliban forces have fortified large stretches along the Durand Line with advanced laser systems, asserting that these capabilities would “effortlessly annihilate” enemy mobile units under cover of darkness.
He stated that Afghan fighters had captured multiple Pakistani military positions. According to his account, two posts in the Mashin Naw area of Dora Baba, three in Anargi (Goshta), and two in Doklam in Kunar province were seized.
Afghan spokesperson Hamidullah Fitrat added, “Three outposts in the Ghashi Kando area of Munawara district in Kunar province and two outposts in the Barikot and Dokalam areas of Nari district have been captured. According to the latest information, 40 soldiers have been killed”.
“Five outposts in the Dur Baba district of Nangarhar province and two outposts in the Goshte district have been seized, and 13 bodies have been recovered by the Afghan Mujahideen”.
Fitrat claimed that Taliban fighters had taken control of multiple border positions across Kunar and Nangarhar provinces and inflicted significant casualties, though the figures could not be independently verified.
There was no immediate word on casualties, and Pakistan’s military did not issue an official response to the Afghan announcement.
However, local authorities in Pakistan and two senior security officials said troops stationed along the Afghan border in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were retaliating after what they described as “unprovoked fire”.
They said Pakistani forces targeted Afghan positions from where the artillery shelling had allegedly been launched.
In a statement posted on X, the ministry said Taliban fighters had opened fire across multiple sectors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
It added that Pakistani troops mounted an “immediate and effective response,” claiming to have inflicted heavy casualties and destroyed several posts and pieces of equipment.
The spokesperson of the Taliban’s 201 Khalid bin Walid Corps stated that Afghan border forces had begun fighting in eastern provinces bordering Pakistan, claiming the action was a direct response to Pakistani airstrikes.
Dozens of civilians, including women and children, were reported killed on Sunday in airstrikes carried out by the Pakistani military in two Afghan provinces bordering Pakistan, according to Afghan officials.
The strikes targeted areas in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, with Pakistan describing the operation as “targeted strikes” against militant hideouts.
Afghan authorities did not release an exact death toll, but local reports indicated that at least 17 members of a single family were among those killed. The incident sharply escalated tensions between Islamabad and the Taliban-led administration in Kabul.
Reacting to the strikes, Zabihullah Mujahid strongly condemned the attacks. “Last night, they bombed our civilian compatriots in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, killing and wounding dozens of people, including women and children,” he said.
Mujahid accused Pakistani military leaders of attempting to “compensate for their country’s security weaknesses through such crimes”.
Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been rising in recent months, largely over cross-border militancy and security concerns.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused Kabul of allowing Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants to operate from Afghan soil, a claim the Taliban administration denies.
The Durand Line, the contested border drawn during British colonial rule, continues to be a flashpoint, with periodic exchanges of fire and diplomatic strain.
Observers warn that sustained clashes could destabilise the already volatile border region, disrupt trade routes, and displace civilians.
Regional stakeholders are closely monitoring developments amid fears of broader escalation between the two neighbouring states.
– Ends
With agency inputs
