AhlulBayt News Agency: The Pakistani military reported that 23 of its soldiers were killed and 29 were wounded.
In a statement, it said over 200 Taliban and affiliated were killed, with multiple Taliban positions along the border destroyed and training camps “rendered inoperative”.
Afghan officials said on Sunday that their security forces had targeted Pakistani military outposts along the border in what they described as “retaliatory operations,” following what Kabul said were Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan last week. At least 23 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 29 others were injured on Saturday, according to Pakistan’s military. The Taliban government said nine Afghan soldiers had died and at least 16 others had been injured.
What triggered the clashes?
The latest escalation was primarily triggered by a surge in TTP attacks targeting Pakistani forces, including bombings in northwestern Pakistan.
Islamabad has repeatedly urged the interim Taliban administration to rein in the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif claimed on Thursday that the Afghan interim administration had asked for money from Islamabad to relocate TTP away from its border.
The media reported that Pakistan struck terrorist targets inside Afghanistan on Thursday.
A claim Pakistan has neither denied nor accepted.
Pakistan alleges that the Taliban government has allowed TTP group to operate from Afghan soil, while Kabul denies the charges and reaffirms that it does not permit attacks against Pakistan from its territory.
India-administered Kashmir
Pakistan also lodged a strong protest with Afghanistan over the India-Afghanistan Joint Statement issued on October 10 in New Delhi, expressing serious reservations about references concerning India-administered Kashmir.
Afghanistan's interim Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, arrived in India for a diplomatic visit on October 9, the first time a Taliban official visited New Delhi since coming back to power in 2021.
Pakistan summoned Afghanistan’s ambassador to convey Islamabad’s concerns.
The protest centred on the reference to India-administered Kashmir as an integral part of India, which Pakistan asserts is a direct violation of relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and the internationally recognised disputed status of the region.
What both sides say?
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the Afghan attacks, calling them “provocations” and said:
"There will be no compromise on Pakistan's defence, and every provocation will be met with a strong and effective response," Sharif said in a statement, accusing Taliban authorities in Afghanistan of allowing their land to be used by "terrorist elements".
Meanwhile, Afghanistan defended the skirmishes as “retaliatory operations,” stating that the “situation on all official borders and de facto lines of Afghanistan is under complete control”.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman, told reporters on Sunday that the fighting had stopped at midnight after Qatar and Saudi Arabia urged restraint. He warned Pakistan that any violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty would prompt retaliation.
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