Taliban spokesperson Zabeehullah Mujahid on Sunday said they killed at least 58 Pakistani soldiers and over 30 were left wounded in retaliatory strikes near the Durand Line in Behrampur district. He also warned Pakistan of leaving “no attack unanswered” and accused it of letting ISIS terrorists hide on their soil. Mujahid demanded that Pakistan either hand over the named individuals to the Islamic Emirate or expel them from its territory.
Taliban says ‘Will not leave any attack unanswered’
At a press conference on Sunday, Mujahid, said, “Pakistan has turned a blind eye to the presence of ISIS on its soil. Afghanistan has the right to defend its air and land borders and will not leave any attack unanswered. Pakistan should expel the important ISIS members who are hiding there from its soil or hand them over to the Islamic Emirate. The ISIS group poses a threat to many countries in the world, including Afghanistan. He added that nine Taliban fighters had died and between 16 and 18 people were injured.
Defending the retaliatory strikes, the Taliban spokesperson stated that a substantial cache of weapons was seized by Islamic Emirate forces during the clashes. He emphasised Afghanistan’s right to protect its air and land borders, and warned that any attacks would not go unanswered.
He added, “The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan earnestly demands that the aforementioned individuals either be handed over to the Islamic Emirate or that the Pakistani government expel them from its territory. By doing so, the Pakistani government would fulfil its responsibilities and honour its commitments.”
Pakistan’s Interior Minister condemns attack
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi described the Afghan attacks as “unprovoked” alleging that civilians were fired at. He warned that Pakistan’s forces would retaliate “with a stone for every brick.” Naqvi condemned the attack writing, “The firing by Afghan forces on civilian populations is a blatant violation of international laws. Afghanistan is playing a game of fire and blood,” in a post on X.
What had happened?
Clashes broke out between the Pakistan Army and Afghan forces following firing at multiple locations along the Pak-Afghan border in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, Dawn reported on Saturday. The firing took place at several key posts, including Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir, Chitral in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Baramcha in Balochistan. The escalation comes at a time when Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is on India visit.
Taliban border forces said that the clashes broke out after Kabul accused Islamabad of carrying out air strikes on the Afghan capital earlier this week. “In retaliation for the air strikes by Pakistani forces”, Taliban border forces in the east are “engaged in heavy clashes against Pakistani forces’ posts in various border areas”, the Afghan military said in a statement, as reported by Dawn.
