Pakistan has announced the launch of “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq” following escalating cross-border hostilities with Afghanistan, after Kabul claimed its forces killed 55 Pakistani soldiers in strikes along the volatile Durand Line.
State broadcaster PTV News said the operation was initiated in response to what it described as “unprovoked aggression” from the Afghan side. Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar later stated that 133 people had been killed and over 200 injured in the recent violence, though details of the figures remain contested.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the armed forces were delivering a “crushing response” to what he termed aggression by the Afghan Taliban regime. He also called on the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to stand “shoulder to shoulder” with federal authorities and other provinces in safeguarding national security.
The escalation follows claims by the Taliban-led government in Kabul that it had seized 19 Pakistani military outposts and captured a key headquarters at Anzar Sar in Khost province. Afghanistan’s Deputy Spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat posted on X that “heavy retaliatory offensive operations” had been launched along the Durand Line by the 203 Mansouri Corps and the 201 Khalid bin Walid Corps.
Fitrat alleged that one headquarters and nineteen outposts had been captured, and that up to 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed. He further claimed that 23 bodies had been recovered while others were taken alive. According to Kabul, dozens of weapons were seized and operations were continuing in eastern provinces including Paktia, Paktika and Nangarhar, as well as near the Torkham Gate border crossing.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the offensive was a response to repeated Pakistani air assaults. “Extensive offensive operations have begun against Pakistani army centers and military facilities along the Durand Line,” he stated.
Islamabad, however, has rejected Kabul’s casualty claims. Attaullah Tarar said two Pakistani soldiers were killed and three injured, while 36 Afghan fighters had died. He described Afghanistan’s actions as unprovoked and asserted that Pakistan was delivering a “strong and effective response.”
The clashes come after Pakistani airstrikes earlier in the week, which Islamabad said targeted militant training camps near the border. Afghanistan maintained that the strikes killed civilians, including women and children, and condemned them as a violation of its sovereignty.
With heavy exchanges of fire reported and evacuations taking place near the Torkham crossing, concerns are growing that the situation could spiral into a broader confrontation between the two neighbouring countries.
