Pakistan claims 274 Afghan Taliban fighters killed in major cross-border escalation
Tensions along Pakistan–Afghanistan border intensified sharply as the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) carried out fresh strikes across the frontier
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (MNTV) — Tensions along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border intensified sharply as the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) carried out fresh strikes across the frontier, while ground forces reported killing 274 Afghan Taliban fighters in ongoing clashes, according to updated figures released by officials.
Islamabad said the escalation followed what it described as unprovoked firing by Afghan Taliban elements at multiple points along the border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the director general of Pakistan military’s media wing, says 274 Taliban fighters have been killed and more than 400 injured by Pakistani attacks.
According to the updated claims, 83 Afghan Taliban posts were destroyed and seventeen captured. More than 115 tanks, artillery pieces and armored personnel carriers were also reportedly destroyed.
According Chaudhry, at least 12 Pakistani soldiers have been killed in attacks by Afghan Taliban.
State broadcaster Pakistan Television Corporation reported that Pakistani forces struck multiple Taliban targets, including a brigade headquarters and ammunition depot in Kandahar, a post in the Wali Khan sector, a position in Paktika near the Shawal sector, and additional posts in Bajaur and Angoor Adda.
Officials described the air and ground campaign as part of Operation Ghazab-ul-Haq, calling it a measured act of self-defense.
Authorities maintained that no Pakistani posts were captured or damaged, and dismissed claims circulating on Afghan and Indian social media alleging heavy Pakistani losses as “baseless propaganda.”
Heavy artillery exchanges were reported in Chitral, Mohmand, Bajaur, Kurram and Khyber districts. Mortar shells landed near Maro Sar and Shah Kot Sar in Landi Kotal’s Bazaar-Zakhakhel area, though no civilian casualties were confirmed.
Security was tightened at the Torkham crossing, which has remained closed since October 12 last year.
Earlier, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistan had bombed Kabul, Kandahar and at least one target in Paktia province, claiming there were no casualties. That assertion has not been independently verified.
Background
The latest escalation follows Pakistani air operations last week in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar and Paktika provinces, which Islamabad said targeted camps linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Pakistani officials have repeatedly accused the TTP of using Afghan territory to launch attacks inside Pakistan — a claim the Taliban administration in Kabul denies.
Relations between the two neighbors have remained strained since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, with periodic cross-border clashes and disputes over security, militancy and management of the Durand Line frontier.
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