Security forces repulsed an attack by the Afghan Taliban along the Balochistan border on Wednesday, killing around 15 to 20 Afghan Taliban, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
According to a statement by the ISPR, Afghan Taliban “resorted to cowardly attack[s] at four locations in [the] Spin Boldak area” in the early hours of Wednesday. “The attack was effectively repulsed by Pakistani forces,” the statement said.
It added that as Pakistani troops repelled the attack,15 to 20 Afghan Taliban were killed and several others were injured.
“The situation is still developing. There are reports of further buildup at staging points of Fitna-al-Khwarij and [the] Afghan Taliban,” the statement said.
Fitna-al-Khwarij is the state-designated term for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The ISPR said that the attack from the Afghan side was “unfortunately […] orchestrated through divided villages in the area, with no regard for [the] civil population”.
“The Afghan Taliban also destroyed the Pak-Afghan Friendship Gate on their side, which clearly displays the mindset with regard to mutual trade and easement rights of the divided tribes,” it added.
The statement by the military’s media affairs wing underlined that the incident in Balochistan was an isolated event.
“On [the] night of October 14/15, Afghan Taliban and Fitna-al-Khwarij tried to attack Pakistani border posts in Kurram Sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“These attacks were effectively repulsed, causing heavy losses to Afghan posts. Eight posts, including six tanks, were destroyed in the effective yet proportionate response of Pakistani troops. Twenty-five to thirty Afghan Taliban and Fitna-al-Khwarij fighters were suspected to have been killed,” the ISPR said.
The ISPR further stated, “The insinuations that the attack was initiated by Pakistan are outrageous and blatant lies, just like the claims of capturing Pakistani posts or equipment. The propaganda of [the] Taliban regime can be debunked with basic fact checks.”
The statement also reaffirmed that the “armed forces stand resolute and fully prepared to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan. All acts of aggression against Pakistan will be responded to with full force”.
Before the ISPR’s statement today, Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid also posted on social media platform X about the incident at the border in Balochistan.
He alleged that Afghan forces were “forced to retaliate” after attacks by Pakistani forces in the Spin Boldak district of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.
Mujahid claimed that more than 12 civilians were killed and over 100 were injured in the attacks carried out by Pakistani forces with the use of “light and heavy weapons”. The Afghan government spokesperson also claimed heavy losses on the Pakistan side, including the capture of posts and weapons, as well as fatalities.
PM lauds security forces for repelling Kurram attack
A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) today said premier Shehbaz Sharif had expressed concern over “incitement” by the Afghan Taliban, Fitna-al-Khwarij and Fitna-al-Hindustan (the term designated by the state for terrorist organisations in Balochistan) at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
He also paid tribute to the security forces for repelling the attack by the Afghan Taliban in the Kurram sector, the statement said. It further quoted the PM as observing that the Pakistan Army had given a “strong” response to the Afghan Taliban’s “unprovoked aggression”.
“National integrity will be defended at all costs. The use of Afghan soil for incidents of terrorism in Pakistan is condemnable,” he added.
Tense ties
Today’s border clash in Balochistan is the third major skirmish between Pakistan and Afghanistan within a week, following the incident in Kurram last night and earlier skirmishes that began on Saturday night and continued into Sunday morning at several locations.
According to the ISPR, 23 Pakistani troops were martyred and 29 injured in the incident that began with Afghan Taliban attacking posts across the border. The military’s media affairs wing also said that credible intelligence estimates and damage assessment showed that “more than 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists have been neutralised, while the number of injured is much higher”.
Afghanistan claimed it carried out the attack as a “retaliatory” measure, accusing Islamabad of conducting air strikes in its territory last week. For its part, Islamabad did not confirm whether it was behind the air strikes but underscored Pakistan’s right and resolve to defend itself.
The weekend clash took place against the backdrop of Pakistan suffering multiple casualties among security forces in intelligence-based operations against terrorists.
Islamabad has repeatedly called on Kabul to bar terrorist groups from using its territory to attack Pakistan, however, Afghanistan denies the allegations and claims Afghan soil is not used for attacks on neighbouring countries.
The issue of terrorists using Afghan soil against Pakistan has long strained ties between the two countries and the ties seem to have nose-dived with recent increase in hostilities at the border.
On Monday, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said while speaking on on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada ke Saath’ that there were “no ties” between Islamabad and Kabul. “It’s a stalemate right now. You can say there are no active hostilities, but the environment is hostile,” he had said, adding: “There are no ties, direct or indirect, as of today”.
The minister had also said that hostilities between the two sides could resume “at any time”.
Additional reporting by Irfan Sadozai
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