Taliban Call for Dialogue After Deadly Border Clashes with Pakistan

Islamabad/Kabul-(Mudassar Iqbal/Web Desk)-The Taliban authorities in Afghanistan on Friday expressed willingness to engage in talks with Pakistan following intense and deadly border clashes between the two sides.

Speaking at a press conference, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the group had consistently advocated a peaceful resolution and remained committed to settling the dispute through dialogue.

The statement came after Pakistan launched a strong retaliatory response to what it described as unprovoked firing by Afghan Taliban fighters across multiple sectors of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram, and Bajaur late Thursday night.

According to Pakistani officials, security forces targeted and destroyed several key Taliban positions along the border. The Pakistan Air Force also carried out strikes in Kandahar, Kabul, and Paktia as part of the operation.

DG ISPR: 274 Afghan Taliban killed during Operation Ghazab lil-Haq

Providing operational details, Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations, said that 274 Taliban personnel and members of affiliated militant groups were killed, while more than 400 sustained injuries.

He further stated that over 74 Taliban posts were destroyed during the action, and 18 checkposts were taken into Pakistani control.

The ISPR DG said that Pakistani forces destroyed 115 enemy tanks and armoured vehicles, while also targeting 22 hideouts of Fitna al-Hindustan and Fitna al-Khawarij during the action.

He said that militants fled the area, leaving behind the bodies of their associates following Pakistan’s befitting response to the unprovoked firing.

The ISPR DG said that military installations in Nangarhar, Laghman and Paktika were also targeted. “Our air force targeted an infantry brigade headquarters in Kabul.”He said that a brigade headquarters in Kandahar was destroyed, adding that the “fireworks” witnessed in Kabul’s skies at night were seen by the world.

As many as 12 security personnel embraced martyrdom while 27 sustained injuries during Pakistan’s retaliatory response, he added.

He said that the retaliatory operation continues under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s directives.

“Our operation last night was for the defence of our country and the protection of our people,” he said, adding that the forces acted in a professional manner and targeted only military objectives.

He added that drone attacks in KP’s Abbottabad and Nowshera were foiled during the exchange of fire with the Taliban regime.

Earlier today, PM Shehbaz visited the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi, where he received a detailed briefing from the military leadership on border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Addressing senior military officials, the prime minister emphasised that a zero-tolerance approach must be maintained against the nexus between Fitna al-Khawarij and the Afghan Taliban regime, as well as malicious activities being carried out against Pakistan.

He termed these cross-border attacks by the Afghan Taliban regime and Fitna al-Khawarij as “unacceptable” and reaffirmed the country’s right to defend its territory.