Pakistan says it killed 67 Afghan security force members in fifth day of
fighting
[March 03, 2026]
By MUNIR AHMED and ABDUL QAHAR AFGHAN
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghanistan's ground forces attacked Pakistan's
military positions at 16 locations along the southwestern border early
Tuesday and fired on multiple points in the northwest, triggering
intense clashes in which 67 Afghan security force members and one
Pakistani soldier were killed, as fighting between the two neighbors
entered its fifth consecutive day, officials said.
Pakistan “successfully repelled these multiple attacks" along the Afghan
border, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.
Afghan forces carried out ground assaults in 16 locations in the
southwestern districts of Qilla Saifullah, Nushki and Chaman in
Balochistan province, Tarar said on X. In retaliatory attacks, Pakistan
killed 27 members of Afghan forces, he said.
Tarar said that Afghan forces also launched attacks at 25 locations in
the border regions of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Pakistani
troops killed 40 Afghan security force members.
There was no immediate comment from Kabul on the Pakistani figures.
However, Pakistan and Afghanistan have both repeatedly claimed to
inflicted heavy losses on the other side since Thursday, when
Afghanistan launched attacks in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes the
previous Sunday. Since then, Pakistan has carried out operations along
the border, with Tarar on Monday, saying that 435 Afghan security force
members were killed and that 31 positions have been captured in the
fighting.
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In recent days, Kabul has also said that its forces inflicted
significant losses on Pakistan’s military.
The latest announcement about the killing of Afghan forces came a
day after Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari defended the ongoing
strikes in Afghanistan, saying Islamabad had tried all forms of
diplomacy before targeting militants operating from Afghan
territory. He asked Kabul to disarm groups responsible for attacks
in Pakistan.
Pakistan has described its operations as an “open war ” with
Afghanistan, alarming the international community. The border area
remains a stronghold for militant organizations, including al-Qaida
and the Islamic State group.
Pakistan has experienced a surge in violence in recent months, which
it attributes to the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban
Pakistan, or TTP, which operates inside Pakistan and from Afghan
territory. Islamabad accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of
providing safe havens for the TTP, which Kabul denies.
The latest cross-border fighting ended a ceasefire brokered by Qatar
and Turkey in October. Talks in Istanbul failed to produce a
permanent agreement, and Pakistani authorities have said that
operations will continue until Afghanistan’s Taliban government
takes practical, verifiable steps to rein in the TTP and other
militants behind violence in Pakistan.
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