Afghan Suffers One Thousand Causalities in Escalation with Pakistan
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar stated that at least 415 Taliban fighters and allied militants were killed and over 580 wounded in airstrikes and clashes since Thursday, sharing the figures on X on Saturday. He also said that 182 Afghan checkpoints were destroyed along with 185 tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery, and that airstrikes had targeted 46 locations across Afghanistan.
Kabul has not confirmed these figures. Afghan government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat reported on X that three days of border clashes resulted in 78 deaths: 12 Pakistani soldiers and one civilian, along with 13 Afghan soldiers and 52 Afghan civilians, mostly women and children. Casualties were reported in Paktika, Khost, Kunar, Nangarhar, and Kandahar provinces. Neither side’s numbers could be independently verified.
The escalation began early Friday when Pakistan launched heavy artillery and airstrikes in response to Taliban attacks on Pakistani border positions the previous day that killed two soldiers. Kabul described its actions as “retaliatory operations” following Pakistani airstrikes last Sunday.
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif later labeled the confrontation an “open war,” accusing the Afghan Taliban government of “exporting terrorism.”
Tensions between the two neighbors have steadily worsened since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 after the US withdrawal. Cross-border clashes have become increasingly frequent since March 2024, peaking in October 2025 when Pakistani forces seized 19 Afghan border posts during skirmishes with Taliban units.
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