Taliban fighters at checkpoint close Torkham border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, February 28, 2026. © Getty Images / Sami Jan/picture alliance
Afghan forces suffered nearly 1,000 casualties in the fresh escalation of the cross-border conflict with Pakistan, officials in Islamabad say.
The Minister of Information of Attaullah Tarar reported that at least 415 Taliban and militants from their allies had been killed in raids and clashes since Thursday, and over 580 were injured.
This data was published on Saturday on the X portal.
Minister besides claims that 182 Afghan checkpoints, 185 tanks, armored vehicles and artillery guns were destroyed, and raids were targeted at 46 locations throughout the country.
Kabul did not comment on the data quoted by Tarar. A spokesperson for the Afghan government Hamdullah Fitrat stated on Saturday that 3 days of border clashes consumed 78 deaths, including 12 Pakistani soldiers and 1 civilian, and 13 Afghan soldiers and 52 Afghan civilians, mostly women and children.
The fatalities were reported in Paktika, Chost, Kunar, Nangarhar and Kandahar provinces, reported in separate statements on the X portal.
Neither party’s data was independently verified.
On Friday morning, Pakistan launched intense fire and raids on its western neighbour in consequence to the firing of Pakistani border positions carried out the day before by Afghan Taliban forces, resulting in the deaths of 2 soldiers.
Kabul described cross-border fire as a ‘retaliation operation’ after Pakistani raids last Sunday. Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif later called the escalation ‘open war’, accusing the Afghan Taliban government of ‘export of terrorism’.
Relations between neighbours have steadily deteriorated since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 after the U.S. withdrew.
As of March 2024, border clashes have become more frequent, reaching the apogee in October 2025, erstwhile the Pakistani army seized 19 Afghan border posts during a fight with Taliban forces.
The ties have further deteriorated in fresh months as Pakistan accuses militants of acting from Afghanistan with the support of the Taliban government – why Kabul denies it.
Pakistan besides accuses Afghanistan of expanding military and political ties with India at the expense of Islamabad, while Kabul maintains that it has the right to make relations with any country.
Translated by Google Translator
source:https://www.rt.com/news/633358-Pakistan-afghanistan-clashes-death-toll/
