The Taliban administration in Afghanistan has asserted that 58 Pakistani troops were killed in border skirmishes during the night, according to Tolo News. Clashes broke out on Saturday night as tensions between Kabul and Islamabad escalated.
On Sunday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid stated Afghan forces had conducted "retaliatory operations" against Pakistani military positions along the Durand Line after repeated cross-border incursions.
Afghanistan's Defense Minister Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid announced that Taliban troops are "fully ready to defend the country's borders," threatening that any future attempts would elicit "a more tough response."
“Afghanistan has the right to defend its air and land borders and will not leave any attack unanswered,” Yaqub Mujahid said at a press conference, as quoted by Tolo News.
The operations, which focused on military and militia positions in Helmand, Kandahar, Paktika, Khost, Paktia, Zabul, Nangarhar, and Kunar provinces, ended by midnight, Afghanistan's Defence Ministry said.
Helmand provincial spokesman Maulvi Mohammad Qasim Riaz said Afghan forces overran three Pakistani security checkpoints close to the Bahramcha district, capturing weapons and ammunition.
Pakistan responded by shutting its major border crossings with Afghanistan — Torkham and Chaman — as well as smaller crossing points at Kharlachi, Angoor Adda, and Ghulam Khan, officials quoted by Reuters said.
The shutdown came after Afghan officials earlier in the week accused Pakistan of conducting airstrikes in Kabul and eastern provinces, which Islamabad has not confirmed or denied.
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