Pakistani military strikes Afghan Taliban border positions after cross-border fire
Pakistan’s armed forces targeted and destroyed several Afghan Taliban posts and military positions in areas adjacent to South Waziristan and Parachinar, state media reported on Friday, citing security sources. According to state-run Radio Pakistan, the army “gave a befitting reply to unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban along the Pak-Afghan border in the Angoor Adda area” on Tuesday. “Using heavy weaponry, the Pakistan Army forced Afghan Taliban personnel to abandon their posts and flee,” the report said. Citing reports, it added that several Afghan Taliban regime personnel were also killed during the operation. “Security forces remain committed to the defence of the country and the protection of its people and there will be no compromise on national security,” the report said. On Tuesday, Afghan security forces opened unprovoked fire on Pakistan Army border posts and residential areas in the Angoor Adda border area, which claimed the life of one local and injured a family of five. According to officials, the firing originated from posts located inside Afghan territory and targeted Pakistani border posts with sniper, small and heavy weapons. Sources said that Pakistani forces launched an immediate and effective retaliatory action, engaging multiple Afghan Taliban border posts, mortar positions and defensive bunkers with small and heavy arms, including artillery. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi had condemned the firing, asserting that Pakistan would “never tolerate” attacks on its people or violations of its sovereignty. Meanwhile, Pakistan had also dismissed a statement by Afghanistan’s defence ministry regarding the incident that claimed that Pakistan was the aggressor, terming it a “fabrication of lies”. The border at Angoor Adda is one of the most important and sensitive crossings along the Pak-Afghan border, serving as a key trade route and one of the main points of public movement between the two countries. Pak-Afghan tensions Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Taliban administration in Kabul to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil, particularly those linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, that are used for attacks in Pakistan. Officials say those appeals have gone unheeded. September witnessed another bout of conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan. On Sept 21, in response to recent major terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan conducted “calibrated” airstrikes in the border region with Afghanistan against terrorist hideouts, with the government saying more than 28 terrorists were killed. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar described the action as part of Operation Ghazab lil Haq, which was launched on the night of Feb 26 in response to unprovoked cross-border firing by the Afghan Taliban. Days later, Pakistan shot down eight drones launched from across the border that had entered Pakistani airspace near the Torkham border and Kohat. It was also reported that the Afghan Taliban engaged in unprovoked firing the night before near Kurram as security forces foiled an attempt by terrorists to cross into Pakistan. In retaliation for the drone incursion, Pakistan conducted “precision aerial and drone strikes” in 10 locations across Afghanistan. A demarche was also delivered to the Afghan side on Sept 26 on account of the Sept 23 airspace violation by drones, the Foreign Office said. On Oct 1, Pakistan again carried out “well-planned and calibrated” airstrikes against terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan, the information ministry said, adding that the strikes resulted in the deaths of “multiple terrorists”. Around mid-October, the state media reported that security forces had again responded to unprovoked firing by Afghan Taliban forces along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in KP’s Upper Kurram. It quoted security sources as saying that several personnel of the Afghan Taliban were “reportedly killed during the Pakistan Army’s retaliatory action along the Ghuzgarhi border”. The sources further said that in the Upper Kurram sector, the army targeted the Afghan Taliban’s Topsar post and Shipola base camp with artillery fire, reportedly completely destroying the latter. The border skirmishes came a day after the Foreign Office said that talks with Afghanistan could not be unconditional, but also rejected suggestions that Islamabad was unwilling to engage with its neighbour and said it would welcome sincere efforts by friendly countries to help resolve the dispute.
Pakistani troops have destroyed multiple Afghan Taliban positions along the shared frontier following cross-border gunfire earlier in the week, according to Pakistani state media citing security officials.
The military operations targeted fortifications, defensive bunkers, and mortar locations in zones neighboring Parachinar and South Waziristan. State broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported that the army utilized heavy artillery and weapons to drive Afghan personnel away from their installations, resulting in casualties among Taliban forces.
The clashes erupted on Tuesday after Afghan fighters allegedly initiated unprovoked shooting directed at military checkpoints and civilian neighborhoods around the Angoor Adda crossing. The initial gunfire from across the border killed one resident and wounded five members of a single family, Pakistani authorities said. The attack involved small arms, sniper rifles, and heavier ordnance positioned on the Afghan side of the boundary.
In the aftermath of the incident, Faisal Karim Kundi, the governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, denounced the cross-border strikes, emphasizing that Pakistan would not permit infringements on its territorial integrity or assaults against its population. Islamabad likewise rejected assertions from the Afghan Ministry of Defense alleging Pakistani aggression, describing Kabul's narrative as entirely untrue. The Angoor Adda frontier post serves as a crucial transit artery for local trade and travel, making it one of the most vital yet volatile corridors between both nations.
Friction between the two neighboring governments has intensified significantly in recent months. Pakistani leadership has consistently called upon Kabul's Taliban rulers to suppress extremist safe havens, particularly bases operated by the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. Pakistani authorities contend that these hideouts are systematically utilized to launch violent attacks across the border, though Islamabad says its diplomatic appeals have yielded little cooperation.
Cross-border confrontations produced several serious escalations throughout September and October. Following severe attacks inside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Pakistani military executed precision aerial strikes on September 21 against alleged militant safe houses along the border, killing more than 28 individuals under an initiative dubbed Operation Ghazab lil Haq. That effort was originally instituted in February after earlier boundary clashes.
Additional flare-ups followed when Pakistani defenses downed eight unmanned aerial vehicles entering the country's airspace near Kohat and Torkham. In response, Pakistani forces carried out strikes across 10 locations in Afghanistan and lodged a formal diplomatic protest on September 26. Subsequent air operations on October 1 struck additional militant hideouts. Further frontier skirmishes took place in mid-October in Upper Kurram, where Pakistani artillery reportedly demolished the Afghan Taliban's Shipola encampment and damaged other outposts.
While Pakistan's Foreign Office recently maintained that future negotiations with Kabul cannot proceed without conditions, officials indicated that the country remains open to engagement and would welcome third-party diplomatic facilitation to settle boundary disagreements.
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DevelopingReported from Dawn (Pakistan).
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