Pakistan destroys 73 Afghan posts in cross-border strikes, 274 Afghan Taliban operatives killed: DG ISPR

Pakistan’s military on Friday said it had destroyed more than 73 Afghan Taliban posts and 115 tanks in retaliatory strikes, killing 274 Taliban regime operatives and terrorists and injuring over 400 since Thursday night.

Addressing a press conference in Rawalpindi, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said Afghan Taliban forces had initiated unprovoked cross-border firing in 15 sectors across 27 locations along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

He said Pakistan security forces “effectively repulsed” the attacks and launched calibrated counterstrikes in response.

According to the military spokesperson, 12 Pakistani soldiers were martyred, 27 sustained injuries and one remains missing in action during the clashes.

He said Pakistani air strikes hit military targets at 22 locations across Afghanistan, including in Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia, Nangarhar, Khost and Paktika provinces.

According to the spokesperson, the aerial strikes targeted what he described as core headquarters of Afghan Taliban forces, brigade and battalion headquarters, sector headquarters, ammunition depots and logistics bases.

“All these targets were very carefully selected based on intelligence,” Chaudhry said, adding that efforts were made to avoid civilian casualties.

DG ISPR said the Afghan Taliban regime attempted to use rudimentary drones to carry out attacks in Sibi, Abbottabad and Nowshera.

He said Pakistan’s anti-drone systems intercepted and shot down the drones, adding that the incident demonstrated how the Afghan Taliban regime operates as a master proxy.

The DG ISPR said Pakistan specifically targeted hideouts of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operating from inside Afghanistan. He accused the Afghan Taliban regime of providing space to terrorists involved in attacks inside Pakistan.

During the media briefing, the military’s media wing played videos showing Pakistan Army’s strikes on alleged terrorist positions inside Afghanistan and along the border.

Lt Gen Chaudhry described the cross-border firing as a “deliberate escalation” and warned that Pakistan would continue to respond with full force to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Tensions between Islamabad and Kabul have risen sharply in recent days amid a surge in terrorist violence in Pakistan’s border regions.