Sipu Jha
In a tit-for-tat fury, Pakistan launched multiple airstrikes and bombings on Taliban-ruled Afghanistan during the intervening night of Thursday and Friday. Islamabad termed the offensive “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq”, targeting major cities including Kabul and Kandahar, and claiming to have destroyed key military facilities. The action came hours after what Pakistan described as “unprovoked firing” from across the border, Dawn reported.Afghanistan condemned the military action as “cowardly” and stated that there were no casualties on its side. Pakistan, however, lauded the operation as “effective” and claimed that 133 Afghans were killed.Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the country’s armed forces are fully capable of “crushing” any aggression, following airstrikes on neighbouring Afghanistan.“Our forces have the full capability to crush any aggressive ambitions,” Sharif said, according to a post shared on the Pakistani government’s X account.“The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the Pakistan armed forces,” he added.Earlier on Thursday, Taliban forces had attacked Pakistani troops deployed along the Durand Line, border between the two countries, calling it retaliation for earlier deadly strikes.The Durand Line remains a contentious boundary, as Afghanistan has never formally recognised it.Relations between the two Islamic neighbours have deteriorated in recent months, with key land border crossings largely remaining shut during periods of heightened tensions between the power centres in Islamabad and Kabul.
Here are the top 10 things to know —
- At least three explosions were heard in Kabul, though there was no immediate information about the exact locations targeted in the Afghan capital or any potential casualties.
- In Kabul, jets were heard overhead and multiple loud blasts echoed across the city, followed by gunfire that continued for more than two hours. In Afghanistan’s southern city of Kandahar, where Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is based, residents reported to news agency AFP, hearing jets flying overhead.
- The Taliban government confirmed the Pakistani airstrikes, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stating that there were no casualties. However, Islamabad claimed that its overnight strikes killed 133 Afghans.
- Hours earlier, Mujahid had announced “large-scale offensive operations” at the border “in response to repeated violations by the Pakistani military”.
- The Afghan defence ministry said eight of its soldiers were killed in the land offensive.
- An Afghan official reported that several civilians were wounded near the Torkham border crossing, at a camp housing people returning from Pakistan. “A mortar shell has hit the camp and unfortunately seven of our refugees have been wounded, and the condition of one woman is serious,” said Qureshi Badlun, the information chief in Nangarhar province.
- Although the border has largely remained closed since October, Afghan returnees have been permitted to cross.
- Pakistan’s information minister Ataullah Tarar praised Islamabad’s response as “strong and effective” following the Taliban’s attacks. He also said that two Pakistani soldiers had been killed and three others wounded.
- On X, he wrote that Pakistan was mounting a “strong and effective response” to what he described as an unprovoked attack from Afghanistan, adding that Islamabad would continue to act. Explosions were later reported in Kabul following the Pakistani statement.
- Mosharraf Ali Zaidi, spokesman for Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, said, “a total of 133 Afghan Taliban are confirmed killed, more than 200 wounded. Many more casualties estimated in strikes in Kabul, Paktia and Kandahar military targets.”
- Mujahid, the Taliban government spokesman, told AFP that several Pakistani soldiers had been “caught alive”, a claim denied by the prime minister’s office in Islamabad.
The latest military operation follows Pakistani strikes on Nangarhar and Paktika provinces overnight into Sunday, which the UN mission in Afghanistan said killed at least 13 civilians.The Taliban government said at least 18 people were killed and rejected Pakistan’s claim that the operation had left more than 80 militants dead.Both sides also reported cross-border firing on Tuesday, though no casualties were reported.After repeated violations of the initial ceasefire, Saudi Arabia intervened earlier this month, mediating the release of three Pakistani soldiers captured by Afghanistan in October.
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