435 Afghan Taliban fighters killed, 188 vehicles destroyed in Operation Ghazab Lil Haq: Tarar

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Monday said Pakistani security forces killed 435 Afghan Taliban combatants and destroyed 188 tanks and armoured vehicles during Operation Ghazab Lil Haq, launched in response to what he termed “unprovoked action” from across the border.

Sharing a detailed summary of losses inflicted on the Afghan Taliban regime as of 3pm, Tarar said more than 630 Afghan operatives were injured in the operation. He added that 31 Afghan military posts were captured and 51 locations across Afghanistan were successfully targeted in precision air strikes.

Describing the campaign as a decisive and proportionate response to aggression, Tarar underscored the scale of damage inflicted on Afghan Taliban forces, calling the operation a strong message against cross-border hostility.

The latest escalation marks another chapter in rising tensions between Islamabad and Kabul, following months of tit-for-tat actions along the volatile frontier.

Earlier, Pakistan carried out air strikes targeting camps of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State Khorasan Province inside Afghanistan after a wave of militant attacks in Pakistan, including a suicide bombing in Islamabad. Pakistani security sources had claimed that more than 80 terrorists were killed in those strikes.

Those operations triggered retaliatory attacks from Afghan forces along the border, eventually leading to the outbreak of the current round of open hostilities.

Islamabad has consistently maintained that TTP leadership and fighters operate from Afghan soil — an allegation the Afghan authorities have repeatedly denied.

Tensions had already intensified following a series of explosions in Kabul on October 9 last year. Taliban forces subsequently targeted areas along Pakistan’s border, prompting Islamabad to respond with cross-border shelling. The exchanges resulted in casualties and infrastructure damage on both sides and forced the closure of border crossings on October 12, 2025, leading to the suspension of bilateral trade.

With Operation Ghazab Lil Haq, Pakistan has signalled a hardened stance amid growing instability along its western frontier.