Afghan Taliban say Pakistani troops were killed in “retaliatory” cross-border attacks

The Taliban government confirmed that it attacked Pakistani troops in several mountainous locations on the northern border.

A Taliban spokesman said 58 Pakistani military personnel were killed in what he called “an act of retaliation.” It alleged that Pakistan violated Afghan airspace and bombed a market within its border on Thursday.

Pakistan disputed that figure, saying that 23 members of its armed forces had died and claiming that “200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists had been neutralized.”

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the Afghan attacks were “unprovoked” and that civilians were targeted, warning that his country’s forces would respond “with a stone for every brick.”

Islamabad has accused Kabul of harboring terrorists targeting Pakistan on its soil, an allegation the Taliban government has rejected.

Both the Afghan and Pakistani sides are said to have used small arms and artillery in the Kunar-Kurram region, the BBC has learned.

At a press conference on Sunday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that in addition to the 58 Pakistani military deaths, around 30 others were injured.

He added that nine Taliban fighters were killed and between 16 and 18 people were injured.

Pakistan’s military said 29 of its soldiers were injured and that the number of injured Taliban and “affiliated” fighters was in the hundreds.

Afghanistan’s foreign minister said at a press conference in New Delhi that “we have no problems” with the people of Pakistan and its leadership, but added that “there are some groups in Pakistan who are trying to spoil the situation. Afghanistan has the right to keep its territory and borders safe, and so it retaliated for the violation.”

Pakistan’s interior minister said he “strongly condemns” the Taliban attacks: “Afghan forces’ firing on civilian populations is a flagrant violation of international laws.

“Afghanistan is playing a game of fire and blood,” he said in an X post.

The two main crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan – Torkham, in the north, and Chaman, in the south – were closed, leaving hundreds of trucks carrying goods stranded on both sides.

A Pakistani military spokesman said they would take necessary measures to safeguard the lives and properties of Pakistanis.

Pakistan’s military has not officially commented, but a security source speaking to the BBC said the firing took place in several locations along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, including Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir, Chitral and Baramcha.

A police officer stationed near Ground Zero in Kurram district told the BBC that heavy weapons fire began on the Afghan side at around 10pm local time (5pm GMT).

He said he had received reports of intense gunfire in several locations along the border.

Last week, Afghanistan’s Taliban government accused Pakistan of violating the “sovereign territory” of Kabul when two loud explosions were heard in the city on Thursday night.

Pakistan bombed a civilian market in Afghanistan’s southeastern border province of Paktika, the Taliban’s Defense Ministry said on Friday. Local residents told the BBC’s Afghan service that several shops were destroyed.

A top Pakistani general alleged that Afghanistan was being used as a “base of operation for terrorism against Pakistan”.

Pakistan has long accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing the Pakistani Taliban, known as the TTP, to operate from its lands and fight the government in Islamabad in an attempt to impose a strict Islamist-led system of governance.

The Afghan Taliban government has always denied this.

The latest escalation coincided with a historic week-long trip to India by Afghan Taliban foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, the first since the Taliban’s return to power.

In a diplomatic thaw, Delhi said it would reopen the embassy in Kabul, which was closed four years ago when the Taliban returned to power.

“Afghanistan will also receive a befitting response like India so that it does not dare to look at Pakistan with a malicious eye,” warned Naqvi.

In a statement, Saudi Arabia, which signed a mutual defense pact with Pakistan last month, called for self-restraint and to avoid escalation between Islamabad and Kabul.

Qatar also expressed concern over border tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, calling on both sides to “prioritize dialogue, diplomacy and restraint.”