Pakistani authorities report that Afghan ground troops launched coordinated attacks against military installations at 16 sites along the southwestern frontier and fired upon numerous positions in the northwest during early Tuesday morning, sparking fierce battles that resulted in 67 Afghan security personnel deaths and one Pakistani military fatality, as cross-border hostilities continued for a fifth straight day.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar stated that Pakistan “successfully repelled these multiple attacks” along the Afghan border.
According to Tarar’s statements on X, Afghan military units conducted ground operations across 16 sites in the southwestern districts of Qilla Saifullah, Nushki and Chaman within Balochistan province. Pakistani forces responded by eliminating 27 Afghan personnel during counter-operations, he reported.
Tarar also disclosed that Afghan troops initiated assaults at 25 separate locations throughout the border regions of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Pakistani military units killed 40 Afghan security force members.
Afghan officials in Kabul have not yet responded to Pakistan’s casualty claims.
Both nations have consistently reported inflicting substantial casualties on opposing forces since Thursday, when Afghanistan initiated attacks as retaliation for Pakistani air operations conducted the prior Sunday. Pakistani forces have maintained border operations since that time, with Tarar announcing Monday that 435 Afghan security personnel had been eliminated and 31 positions seized during the conflict.
Kabul has similarly claimed its military units have caused significant Pakistani military losses in recent days.
The most recent casualty reports followed Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari’s defense of the continuing Afghan strikes, stating that Islamabad had exhausted diplomatic options before launching operations against militants based in Afghan territory. He urged Kabul to neutralize groups conducting attacks within Pakistan.
Pakistani officials have characterized their military actions as an “open war” against Afghanistan, causing international concern. The frontier region continues serving as a base for extremist organizations, including al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.
Pakistan has witnessed increased violence in recent months, which officials blame on the banned Pakistani Taliban, identified as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, operating both within Pakistan and from Afghan soil. Islamabad maintains that Afghanistan’s Taliban administration provides sanctuary for the TTP, which Kabul disputes.
The current cross-border combat terminated a truce arranged by Qatar and Turkey last October. Negotiations held in Istanbul failed to establish a lasting resolution, and Pakistani leadership has declared operations will persist until Afghanistan’s Taliban government implements concrete, verifiable measures to control the TTP and other militant groups responsible for Pakistani violence.
