Pakistan Kills Afghan Taliban Fighters After Gulistan Border Clash
Pakistan says its forces killed multiple Afghan Taliban fighters during a Gulistan border clash, following Pakistani strikes on 10 locations in Afghanistan.
Pakistan says its security forces killed multiple Afghan Taliban fighters after an alleged attempt to enter Pakistani territory in the Gulistan sector along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Pakistani authorities said the clash followed an attempted act of aggression and that intermittent firing continued in the area. The casualty claims have not been independently verified, and there was no immediate detailed Afghan statement on the Gulistan incident.
The latest clash came hours after Pakistan said it had conducted aerial and drone strikes at 10 locations in Afghanistan. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes targeted sites allegedly used to launch and store drones after Pakistan reported intercepting eight drones that entered its airspace from Afghanistan.
Afghanistan has denied involvement in the reported drone attacks and condemned the Pakistani strikes. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the strikes killed four Afghan civilians and warned that Kabul would respond.
The escalation follows Pakistani airstrikes on September 21, when Islamabad said 28 militants were killed at targets in Afghanistan. Afghan authorities and the UN reported civilian deaths from those strikes, while the Taliban government condemned the action.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing militant groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, to operate from Afghan territory. Kabul rejects the allegations. The latest exchange adds another layer to already tense relations, with competing claims over drone attacks, militant activity and civilian casualties.
The border situation is clearly getting messier by the day—diplomacy appears to be having a particularly difficult week.
