- Pakistan carries out air and ground strikes inside Afghanistan.
- PM Shehbaz gets briefing on Operation Ghazab lil-Haq at GHQ.
- 12 Pakistani soldiers martyred in border clashes: ISPR DG.
The Taliban regime in Afghanistan on Friday said it wanted dialogue to resolve its conflict with neighbouring Pakistan following deadly fighting.
“We have repeatedly emphasised a peaceful solution, and still want the problem to be resolved through dialogue,” Taliban regime spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a news conference.
Pakistan retaliated with full force after the Afghan Taliban fighters resorted to unprovoked firing along multiple sectors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), including Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram, and Bajaur on Thursday night.
In their retaliatory attacks, Pakistan’s armed forces destroyed several key Afghan Taliban posts, while the PAF conducted strikes in Kandahar, Kabul, and Paktia.
Sharing operational details, the ISPR DG said that 274 personnel of the Taliban regime and members of affiliate terror groups were killed, while more than 400 were injured during the operation.
He added that over 74 posts of the Taliban regime were destroyed, and 18 checkposts were taken into Pakistan’s custody.
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.
— With additional input from AFP
