KABUL, Afghanistan — In a significant escalation of cross-border tensions, Afghan military forces announced Thursday they had captured multiple Pakistani army installations along the contentious Durand Line frontier. The offensive operation was characterized as retaliatory action against Pakistani airstrikes that targeted eastern Afghan border regions earlier this week.
According to statements from Afghanistan’s eastern military corps media office, intensive combat operations commenced Thursday evening in direct response to Pakistan’s recent aerial bombardments. Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid declared via social media that “large-scale offensive operations were launched against Pakistani military bases and military installations” following what he described as “repeated rebellions and insurrections of the Pakistani military.”
Initial reports from Afghan officials presented conflicting accounts of the scale of territorial gains. Mujahid initially confirmed the capture of at least five Pakistani army posts, while provincial authorities in Nangarhar later claimed Afghan forces had seized control of 17 military installations along the border region.
Pakistani security officials and local authorities reported their border forces in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were responding to “unprovoked fire” by targeting the positions from which artillery fire originated. The exchange of fire reportedly began in the Khyber district before spreading to at least four additional border districts.
This recent outbreak of violence represents the most serious deterioration in relations between the neighboring nations since October, when border clashes resulted in dozens of casualties among soldiers, civilians, and suspected militants. The current tensions follow Pakistan’s announcement on Sunday of border strikes that allegedly killed 70 militants—a claim vehemently denied by Afghan authorities, who reported numerous civilian casualties including women and children.
The fragile ceasefire agreement mediated by Qatar between the two nations has largely maintained stability despite occasional border skirmishes. However, several rounds of peace negotiations in November failed to produce a formal diplomatic resolution to the long-standing border disputes.
The Durand Line, spanning 2,611 kilometers (1,622 miles) between the two countries, remains a persistent source of contention as Afghanistan has never formally recognized the border established during British colonial rule.