Afghan Taliban says 58 Pakistani troops killed in ‘retaliatory’ border attacks
The Taliban government has confirmed that it has attacked Pakistani troops in several mountainous areas along the northern border.
A Taliban spokesman said 58 Pakistani military personnel were killed in what he called a “retaliatory action”. He claimed that Pakistan violated Afghan airspace and bombed a market within its borders on Thursday.
Pakistani Interior Minister Muhsin Naqvi said that the Afghan attacks were “not provoked” and that civilians were opened fire on, and warned that his country’s forces would respond “with a stone for every brick”.
Islamabad has accused Kabul of harboring terrorists targeting Pakistan on its territory, a claim the Taliban government denies.
According to information obtained by the BBC, both the Afghan and Pakistani sides are said to have used small arms and artillery in the Kunar-Kurram region.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said at a press conference on Sunday that in addition to the deaths of 58 Pakistani soldiers, about 30 others were injured.
He added that nine Taliban fighters were killed and 16 to 18 were injured.
The Afghan foreign minister told a news conference in New Delhi that “we have no problems” with the Pakistani people and leaders, but added: “There are some groups in Pakistan who are trying to disrupt the situation. Afghanistan has the right to keep its territory and borders secure and that is why it retaliated for the violation.”
Pakistan’s interior minister said he “strongly condemned” the Taliban’s attacks: “Afghan forces opening fire on civilians is a clear violation of international law.”
“Afghanistan is playing a game of fire and blood,” he said in a post on X.
Pakistani military spokesman said that they will take necessary measures to protect Pakistan’s lives and property.
The Pakistani military has not commented officially, but a security source told the BBC that fire had been opened at various locations along the Pakistan-Afghan border, including Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir, Chitral and Baramcha.
A police official near Ground Zero in the Kurram district told the BBC that heavy weapons fire began from the Afghan side at around 22:00 local time (17:00 GMT).
He said they received intense gunfire from many places along the border.
Last week, Afghanistan’s Taliban government accused Pakistan of violating Kabul’s “sovereign zone” when two loud explosions were heard in the city late Thursday.
Pakistan bombed a civilian market in Afghanistan’s southeastern border province of Pktika, the Taliban Ministry of Defense said on Friday. Locals told the BBC’s Afghan service that many shops were destroyed.
A senior Pakistani general has claimed that Afghanistan is being used as a “base for terrorism operations against Pakistan”.
Pakistan has long accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing the Pakistani Taliban, known as TTP, to operate on its territory and fight against the Islamabad government to enforce a strict Islamic-led system of rule.
The Afghan Taliban government has always denied this.
The latest tensions coincided with Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s historic week-long trip to India, his first since the Taliban’s return to power.
As a diplomatic solution, Delhi said it would reopen the embassy in Kabul, which was closed when the Taliban came to power four years ago.
Naqvi said, “Afghanistan will be given a befitting response like India, so that it will not dare to look badly at Pakistan.” he warned.
Saudi Arabia, which signed a mutual defense agreement with Pakistan last month, called for self-control and avoidance of tension between Islamabad and Kabul in its statement.
Qatar also expressed concern about tensions on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, calling on both sides to “prioritize dialogue, diplomacy and moderation.”
