Taliban Claims Killing 58 Pakistani Soldiers in Retaliatory Attack Along Durand Line; Warns Islamabad Against Provocation

Kabul, Oct 2025 : The Taliban regime has claimed that 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 30 others wounded during a retaliatory military operation carried out by Afghan forces along the Durand Line on Saturday night.

According to Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s chief spokesman, Afghan forces launched the counter-operation in response to Pakistan’s airstrikes on October 9, which allegedly targeted areas in Kabul and Paktika provinces.

“Twenty Pakistani security outposts were destroyed, and several weapons were seized during the operation,” Mujahid said, adding that nine Afghan soldiers were martyred and 16 others injured in the fighting.

Mujahid stated that the operation was halted at midnight following intervention and mediation requests from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as reported by Afghanistan-based Tolo News.

The Taliban spokesperson also accused Pakistan of harbouring ISIS-K (Islamic State Khorasan Province) operatives after the group’s defeat in Afghanistan.

“ISIS-K training centres have been established in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Trainees are being brought there via Karachi and Islamabad airports,” he alleged. “Our findings show that the attacks in Iran and Moscow were planned from these centres.”

Mujahid further claimed that the recent ISIS-K attacks in Afghanistan were orchestrated from these Pakistani bases, urging Islamabad to hand over key ISIS-K operatives to Kabul.

He also revealed that Pakistan had sought to send a delegation to Afghanistan to discuss tensions, but the Taliban regime rejected the request in response to Pakistan’s airstrikes.

“Any violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty will not go unanswered,” Mujahid warned.

The statement comes amid escalating cross-border tensions between the two neighbours following Pakistan’s air raids on Afghan territory, which Islamabad claimed targeted militant hideouts.

In a strongly worded response, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence condemned the Pakistani strikes, calling them a “violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty.”

“This is an unprecedented, violent, and hateful act in the history of Afghanistan and Pakistan,” Defence Ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khwarazmi said. “We strongly condemn this aggression against Afghanistan’s territory. Defending our sovereignty is our legitimate right.”

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, who is currently visiting India, issued a stern warning to Islamabad over its military actions.

“We consider Pakistan’s actions a big mistake,” Muttaqi said. “Such problems cannot be solved through force. History has shown that pressure and violence never succeed in Afghanistan.”

He urged Pakistan to resolve disputes through dialogue, cautioning against testing Afghan patience.

“Do not blame Afghanistan for your internal issues. Do not test the patience of Afghans; if you do, ask the British, Russians, Americans, and NATO how playing with Afghanistan ends,” he warned.

Tensions along the Durand Line, the disputed border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, have long been a source of friction. The latest exchange marks one of the deadliest confrontations between the two since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.