Afghanistan attacks Pakistani positions, Islamabad threatens major operation
Shafaq News- Kabul
Afghan forces launched a large-scale offensive on Thursday against Pakistani positions across three border provinces, as Islamabad signaled plans for a broader military operation targeting “terrorist camps” inside Afghanistan.
In press remarks, Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said 40 Pakistani personnel were killed in Kunar province in eastern Afghanistan, adding that 13 bodies had been transferred to Afghan military bases.
Clashes were also reported at the Torkham border crossing, a key transit point between the two countries.
Earlier, Kabul announced the start of “offensive retaliatory operations” along multiple points of the border. Posting on X, Mujahid said the attacks targeted Pakistani military bases and facilities along the Durand Line, the 2,611-kilometer (1,622-mile) frontier that Afghanistan has never formally recognized as an international border.
وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ رَمَىٰ ۚ در واکنش به تمردها و سرکشیهای مکرر حلقه خاص نظامی پاکستان، عملیات گستردهٔ تهاجمی علیه مراکز و تأسیسات نظامی نیروهای پاکستانی در امتداد خط دیورند آغاز گردید. اللهم انصرالمجاهدین في کل مکان!
— Zabihullah (..ذبـــــیح الله م ) (@Zabehulah_M33) February 26, 2026
On the Pakistani side, a security source stated to Al-Jazeera that several Afghan soldiers fled from three posts targeted by Pakistani forces after Afghan troops allegedly opened fire. “Pakistan’s military leadership is preparing to launch a comprehensive operation in response to militant safe havens inside Afghanistan,” the source added, affirming that troops deployed along the Afghan border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province were responding to “unprovoked fire” by targeting Afghan positions from which artillery shelling originated.
A ceasefire mediated by Qatar has largely held, but sporadic cross-border fire has continued. Several rounds of peace talks held in November failed to produce a formal agreement.
On Sunday, the Pakistani military said it had killed at least 70 militants in airstrikes along the border. Afghan authorities rejected the claim, saying dozens of civilians, including women and children, were killed. Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said civilian areas in the east, including a religious school and several homes, were hit, calling the strikes a violation of Afghan sovereignty and airspace.
In October, cross-border clashes killed dozens of soldiers, civilians, and suspected militants from both sides. The violence followed explosions in Kabul that Afghan officials blamed on Pakistan, prompting Islamabad to carry out airstrikes inside Afghan territory targeting what it said were militant hideouts.
