PAF enters arena, destroys major Afghan ammunition depot, 72 militants killed
The confrontation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border intensified dramatically overnight, as security sources said that the Pakistan Air Force jets had started carrying out strikes, destroying what they described as a major ammunition depot in the Nangarhar province.
As many as 72 personnel of the Afghan Taliban regime were killed in retaliatory action along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, while over 100 others were wounded, security sources said on Friday, following unprovoked cross-border attacks on Pakistani positions.
The security forces launched operation Ghazab-lil-haqq after the Taliban regime’s unprovoked action along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, the security sources added.
Security sources said 12 Afghan border posts had been completely destroyed, while Pakistani forces had taken control of five others and hoisted the national flag on them during the latest phase of operations.
Security sources said that three Afghan battalions and a sector headquarters across the border were completely destroyed in the latest phase of the operation.
The sources said that more than 30 tanks, artillery guns and armoured personnel carriers (APCs) were also destroyed.
Security sources said Pakistani forces destroyed the Dawood post of the Afghan Taliban.
Along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, several Taliban positions at the Kharlachi terminal, a key Pak-Afghan border crossing in the Kurram district, were also hit, according to officials.
Pakistan responding decisively: Tarar
In a statement on the latest situation along the Pak-Afghan frontier, Federal Minister for Information Attaullah Tarar said the Afghan Taliban regime initiated hostilities and then attempted to deflect attention through “false and baseless propaganda” on social media.
He said that Afghan Taliban-linked and Indian social media accounts were circulating misleading information about the clashes. “These rumours have no connection with reality,” he said, adding that such narratives were being disseminated to “cover up embarrassment” after what he termed as setbacks to the Afghan forces on the ground.
Tarar said that Pakistan would not allow what he called “lies and propaganda” to obscure developments on the ground, insisting that the country’s forces were thwarting the designs of attackers.
According to the minister, Pakistan’s armed forces were acting with professionalism and resolve. He said 36 Afghan Taliban operatives had been killed and several others injured in the exchanges.
On the Pakistani side, two soldiers were martyred while three others were wounded, he added. There was no immediate response from the Taliban authorities in Kabul.
Tarar said that Pakistan carried out a successful operation against “Fitna al-Khawarij” militants.
He stressed that cross-border firing from the Afghan side in defence of the militants had exposed the Afghan Taliban regime before the international community.
He called on Afghanistan to “learn from past setbacks”, suggesting that previous confrontations had demonstrated the resolve of Pakistan’s security forces.
He added that any hostile designs against Pakistan would continue to be thwarted. “We will keep neutralising the malicious intentions of every enemy who casts an evil eye on our country,” he said.
Heavy losses inflicted on Afghan forces: Mosharraf
In a late-night update issued at 11:40pm on Thursday, the Prime Minister’s spokesperson for foreign media, Mosharraf Zaidi, said the situation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border remained under control.
Posting on social media, he wrote: “Alhamdolillah, not only have no Pakistani posts been captured or damaged, but the Pakistani side has inflicted heavy losses across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in response to unprovoked Taliban aggression.
As of right now, there have been no Pakistani soldiers captured, nor any Pakistani soldiers martyred. Any claims of damage to Pakistan thus far are little more than the fantasy of India’s proxies in Afghanistan.
InshaAllah, rest assured, all aggression targeting Pakistan will get the same response: immediate and effective.”
Mr Zaidi said reports suggesting territorial losses or casualties on the Pakistani side were unfounded and driven by what he described as Indian proxies operating from Afghan soil.
He maintained that no Pakistani post had been overrun or damaged, and that there had been neither fatalities nor captures among Pakistani troops.
Afghan Taliban’s attempts to attack Pakistani security forces’ check posts using quadcopters failed, security sources said, adding that all quadcopters were shot down by Pakistani forces in swift and timely action.
Pakistani security forces are responding to the Taliban regime with light and heavy weapons, the sources said, adding that Afghan Taliban positions were also being targeted by drones.
False claims and fake videos were also being circulated on social media by the Taliban regime, the sources added.
Earlier, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in a statement, said that the Afghan Taliban regime’s unprovoked action along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border was given an immediate and effective response.
In the post on X, the ministry said that the Afghan Taliban miscalculated and opened unprovoked fire on multiple locations across the Pak-Afghan border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is being met with an immediate and effective response by Pakistan’s security forces.
“Taliban regime forces are being delivered punishment in Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram and Bajaur sectors,” it added.
