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Afghanistan's subject launched an onslaught connected Thursday (February 26, 2026) connected Pakistan to retaliate for Pakistani airstrikes connected Afghan borderline areas earlier successful the week, claiming to person captured much than a twelve Pakistani service posts successful the latest escalation of unit betwixt the volatile neighbours.
Pakistan's government, which had described Sunday's airstrikes arsenic an onslaught connected militants harboured successful the area, confirmed clashes were taking spot connected Thursday (February 26, 2026) on the borderline but dismissed claims that service posts had been captured. It called Afghanistan's attacks connected Thursday unprovoked.
Afghanistan's subject corps successful the eastbound said successful a connection that “heavy clashes” had begun Thursday nighttime “in effect to the caller airstrikes carried retired by Pakistani forces" successful eastbound Afghanistan.
“In effect to the repeated rebellions and insurrections of the Pakistani military, large-scale violative operations were launched against Pakistani subject bases and subject installations on the Durand Line,” Afghan authorities spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said successful a station connected X Thursday night.
The 2 countries' 2,611-kilometre agelong borderline is known arsenic the Durand Line, which Afghanistan has not formally recognised.
Afghanistan's Defense Ministry said the retaliatory attacks were occurring on the borderline successful 5 provinces, and said 17 Pakistani service posts had been captured and 40 soldiers killed, with the bodies of 13 taken into Afghanistan.
Mr. Mujahid, the authorities spokesman, said successful a station connected X that immoderate Pakistani soldiers had been captured alive. There was nary authoritative effect from Pakistan connected the claims of casualties oregon of soldiers being captured.
In Pakistan, spokesperson Mosharraf Ali Zaidi for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif denied that immoderate Pakistani soldiers had been killed oregon captured, and that immoderate Pakistani posts had been captured oregon damaged. He said Pakistani forces had alternatively inflicted dense losses on the Pakistan-Afghanistan borderline successful effect to what helium said were unprovoked Taliban attacks.
“As of close now, determination person been nary Pakistani soldiers captured, nor immoderate Pakistani soldiers martyred. Any claims of harm to Pakistan frankincense acold are small much than the phantasy of India's proxies successful Afghanistan," Mr. Zaidi said.
Pakistan's Information Ministry said successful a station connected X that Afghanistan had opened “unprovoked fire” astatine aggregate locations on the Pakistan-Afghanistan borderline successful Khyber Pakhtunkhwa state and that the enactment was being met with an “immediate and effectual response” from Pakistan's information forces.
It said aboriginal reports indicated dense casualties connected the Afghan broadside and that aggregate posts and pieces of instrumentality had been destroyed.
“Pakistan volition instrumentality each indispensable measures to guarantee its territorial integrity and the information and information of its citizens,” the connection said.
Afghanistan's subject released video footage of subject vehicles moving astatine night, and the dependable of dense gunfire. The video could not beryllium independently verified.
Tension has been precocious betwixt the 2 neighbours for months, with deadly borderline clashes successful October sidesplitting dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants. The unit followed explosions successful Kabul that Afghan officials blamed connected Pakistan. Islamabad, astatine the time, conducted strikes heavy wrong Afghanistan to people militant hideouts.
A Qatari-mediated ceasefire betwixt the 2 countries has mostly held, but the 2 sides person inactive occasionally traded occurrence crossed the border. Several rounds of bid talks successful November failed to nutrient a ceremonial agreement.
On Sunday, Pakistan's subject carried retired strikes on the borderline with Afghanistan, saying it had killed astatine slightest 70 militants.
Afghanistan rejected the claim, saying dozens of civilians had been killed, including women and children. The Defence Ministry said “various civilian areas” successful eastbound Afghanistan had been hit, including a spiritual madrassa and respective homes. The ministry said the strikes were a usurpation of Afghanistan's airspace and sovereignty.
Hours earlier Thursday's borderline clashes erupted, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi defended the military's aboriginal Sunday strikes connected what helium described arsenic grooming camps of the Pakistani Taliban on the Afghan border.
At a play quality league successful Islamabad connected Thursday, helium said those “precision strikes were carried out" successful effect to caller militant attacks successful Pakistan. Andrabi said Pakistan “remains cognizant of the threats that emanate from Afghanistan.” He said attacks wrong Pakistan, which helium blamed connected “Khawarij,” a word the authorities uses for the Pakistani Taliban, person accrued implicit the past year.
“We person thing against the radical of Afghanistan,” Andrabi said.
Militant unit has surged successful Pakistan successful caller years, overmuch of which Pakistan blames connected the Pakistani Taliban, oregon TTP, and outlawed Baloch separatist groups. The TTP is abstracted from but intimately allied with Afghanistan's Taliban. Islamabad accuses the TTP of operating from wrong Afghanistan, a complaint some the radical and Kabul deny.
