More than 400 Afghan Taliban operatives killed as fighting enters third day
Over 580 injured and 182 check posts destroyed, says info minister
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani forces have killed as many as 415 Afghan Taliban operatives and injured more than 580, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in an update issued on Sunday.
As fighting entered day three, the minister said in a post on X that 182 check posts have been destroyed and 31 posts were captured.
Providing further details of the losses on the other side of the border, Tarar noted that the forces destroyed 185 tanks, armoured vehicles, and other weaponry.
Pakistan carried out Operation Ghazab lil-Haq earlier this week in response to the Afghan Taliban regime’s unprovoked attacks in border areas, following which the Taliban regime in Afghanistan sought dialogue.
The heaviest fighting in years between the neighbours — along their 2,600-km (1,615-mile) border — has drawn the attention of several countries, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia, calling for restraint and offering to help mediate a ceasefire.
Security sources said that the Pakistan Army continues to respond effectively to Afghan Taliban aggression along the border and has taken control of a key Afghan Taliban central post, while also destroying the Afghan Kharchar check post, located adjacent to the Kurram sector, in a targeted and forceful operation.
Meanwhile, according to the figures provided by the army’s spokesperson, 12 security personnel embraced martyrdom while 27 sustained injuries during Pakistan’s retaliatory response as of Friday evening.
After the army’s response, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari issued strong statements reaffirming Pakistan’s resolve to defend its sovereignty, territory, and people.
The violence of recent days is the worst since the October fighting, during which the Taliban side sustained heavy losses, with land borders between the neighbours largely shut since.
Several rounds of negotiations between Pakistan and Afghanistan last year followed a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey. Staff Report
