Taliban seize Pakistani army outposts along Durand Line: Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense

In a sharp escalation of border tensions, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense claimed that Taliban-led forces had captured multiple Pakistani Army outposts along the Durand Line, including in the volatile Kunar and Helmand provinces.

Sources told TOLOnews that at least five Pakistani soldiers were killed and two others injured in the ongoing border clashes. Intense fighting has been reported in Bahramcha district’s Shakij, Bibi Jani, and Salehan areas, as well as across Paktia’s Aryub Zazi district, where gunfire continues to echo along the frontier.

“Taliban forces have captured several outposts from the Pakistani Army across the Durand Line in Kunar and Helmand provinces,” an Afghan Defense official said in a statement, adding that clashes were ongoing in Shakij, Bibi Jani, and Salehan areas of Bahramcha district.

The fierce cross-border fighting comes just days after Pakistan reportedly launched an airstrike near Kabul — an act that Afghanistan’s 201 Khalid bin Walid Army Corps said triggered “retaliatory” operations targeting Pakistani military positions in Nangarhar and Kunar.

Local sources told TOLOnews that clashes have also erupted in Aryoub Zazi district of Paktia province, spreading to Spina Shaga, Giwi, Mani Jabha and nearby areas along the disputed boundary.

According to the Afghan Defense Ministry, “Pakistani side’s facilities and equipment were destroyed in tonight’s attacks.” It further claimed that one outpost each across Kunar and Helmand had been destroyed, while Pakistani forces reportedly suffered casualties and lost several weapons and vehicles to the Taliban fighters.

The conflict appears to have expanded, with reports of simultaneous fighting in Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Kunar, Helmand, and Nangarhar provinces. Islamabad has not yet issued an official statement on the clashes.

Analysts warn that this is one of the most intense border escalations since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, highlighting the fragile and volatile nature of Afghanistan-Pakistan ties — long strained by territorial disputes and mutual accusations of harboring militants.

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