Fighting With Pakistan Continues In Seven Border Provinces, Says Taliban

Reports on Wednesday indicated fighting along the border in Nangarhar Province and Pakistani airstrikes in Paktia Province and Kandahar.

Attaullah Tarar, Pakistan’s minister for information and broadcasting, said that since the start of the clashes 481 Taliban fighters had been killed, 696 wounded and 226 Taliban checkpoints destroyed.

The Norwegian Refugee Council said Pakistani missiles struck near a displacement camp in Kunar Province, killing at least three people and wounding seven.

On the diplomatic front, Amir Khan Muttaqi held talks with Zhao Xingc, the Chinese ambassador on the security situation and the clashes with Pakistan. Russia also urged both sides to resolve tensions through dialogue.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom again advised its citizens not to travel to Afghanistan.

Inside Afghanistan, the Taliban’s defence ministry displayed what it described as captured Pakistani weapons.

Separately, Rana Sanaullah, a senior adviser to Pakistan’s prime minister, said establishing a buffer zone to prevent militants entering from Afghanistan was necessary and formed part of the government’s policy. He said the Afghan Taliban had opposed the proposal.

Asim Munir, Pakistan’s army chief, said during a visit to military centres in Waziristan that the conflict would continue, adding that peace would not be achieved as long as the Afghan Taliban continued to support insurgents.

At the same time, the United Nations said at least 66,000 people had been displaced inside Afghanistan in the past week alone as a result of the clashes.

After several clerics close to the Taliban in Afghanistan issued fatwas in recent days declaring jihad against the Pakistani army, a similar reaction emerged in Pakistan.

Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, head of the Pakistan Ulema Council, responded by declaring that the Pakistani military’s clashes with the Taliban in the border areas of Afghanistan constitute jihad.

Speaking at a press conference alongside several Pakistani clerics, he said Pakistani forces were confronting what he described as terrorists and that religious scholars and the public in Pakistan supported the army’s operations.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said it has stepped up psychological counselling and social support services for women.

The office said the escalating crisis and fighting in Afghanistan have led to the expansion of emergency assistance programmes for women, including support for basic rights, human dignity and mental health counselling.

At least 10 days have passed since clashes between the Taliban and Pakistan began, with attacks by both sides continuing.

International organisations have warned about the serious impact of the fighting on civilians. According to the United Nations, about 66,000 Afghans have been displaced by the clashes.

Radio Hurriyat, a broadcaster close to Taliban intelligence, said in a post on X early Thursday, citing its sources, that Pakistani troops suffered casualties in the attack.

Earlier, sources told Afghanistan International that Pakistani fighter jets had bombed a Taliban army corps base in Kandahar.

Radio Television Afghanistan also reported early Thursday that Pakistani military aircraft attempted to carry out airstrikes overnight but were met with fire from Taliban forces.

In a joint statement on Wednesday, the groups said the recent escalation in cross-border fighting has seriously threatened civilian lives, regional stability and long-standing economic ties between the two sides.

The statement noted that Afghanistan has endured nearly five decades of war, displacement, forced returns and repeated cycles of violence, leaving millions of families in fragile economic conditions.

The signatories warned that escalating clashes could worsen conditions for communities on both sides of the border, including refugee families, internally displaced people, traders and workers who rely on cross-border commerce.

The organisations urged the Taliban to ensure secure trade routes, including with Pakistan, to ease economic pressure on the population.

They said sustainable peace requires inclusive dialogue and stressed that military responses cannot replace political processes.

Tarar said 696 Taliban fighters have been wounded during the fighting and that 226 Taliban checkpoints have been destroyed.

In a post on X, he said Pakistani forces had also captured at least 35 Taliban posts since the conflict began. He added that 198 Taliban tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery pieces had been destroyed.

Tarar said Pakistani airstrikes had so far targeted 56 locations across Afghanistan.

The Taliban have not yet officially commented on the figures provided by Pakistan.

On Tuesday, the Pakistani official said 464 Taliban fighters had been killed and 665 wounded.