The Taliban government in Afghanistan said on Sunday that its forces killed 58 Pakistani soldiers and injured 30 others in overnight border operations, carried out in response to what it called repeated violations of its territory and airspace by Pakistan.
In a press conference in Kabul, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghan forces had captured 25 Pakistani army posts during what he called “retaliatory and successful operations.” He said 20 Afghan soldiers were also killed or injured during the fighting.
“The situation on all official borders and de facto lines of Afghanistan is under complete control, and illegal activities have been largely prevented,” Mujahid said. “The Islamic Emirate and the people of Afghanistan will defend their land and remain resolute and committed in this defence.”
Mujahid said the Taliban possessed “tools and weapons” capable of targeting aircraft and other Pakistani military equipment. He said these would be used “to protect Afghanistan’s airspace and sovereignty,” without specifying their type or number.
Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry said its operations concluded at midnight on Sunday but warned that forces remained on alert. Mujahid said Afghanistan had halted attacks “at the request of friendly Islamic countries, especially Qatar and Saudi Arabia,” both of which expressed concern over the clashes.
He accused Pakistan of harbouring members of the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) and claimed that the militant group had established new training centres in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Mujahid said recruits were being brought in through Karachi and Islamabad airports, linking these alleged networks to recent attacks in Tehran and Moscow and claiming the group posed “a threat not only to Afghanistan but to the entire world.”
“Around 30 ISKP members, including foreigners, were killed by local insurgents [Baloch fighters] in Balochistan’s Mastung area in February,” the spokesperson said, in what marked the first top-level confirmation of the incident by the Taliban government.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Saturday night that Islamabad had given a “strong and effective response” to the attacks from the Afghan side. “Every act of aggression will be met with a strong and effective response,” he said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned Afghanistan’s “acts of provocation” along the border and praised Pakistan’s armed forces for what he described as a “firm and fitting response.”
He said the army, under the leadership of Field Marshal Asim Munir, had destroyed “several enemy posts, forcing retreat,” and vowed that there would be “no compromise on Pakistan’s defence.”
There was no immediate confirmation from Pakistan regarding the reported casualties.
Saturday night’s clashes mark one of the most serious confrontations between the two neighbours in recent years. Both sides have a history of cross-border strikes and skirmishes along the 2,600-kilometre frontier.