Taliban Retaliates After Pak Airstrikes Rocked Afghanistan, Targets Military Posts in Durand Line

Kabul – Hours after Pakistan conducted arbitrary airstrikes in multiple regions in Afghanistan, the Taliban decided to retaliate and targeted Pakistan's military posts. According to Afghani news outlet Khaama Press, the Taliban forces targeted Pak military posts along the Durand Line with heavy weapons. The Taliban-installed Ministry of Defence noted that the attacks were conducted in response to Pakistan’s airstrikes. As per the reports, the Durand Line saw armed clashes between Taliban forces and Pakistani border guards that began at 7 am (Local time) on Monday. 

“In response to this aggression, the border forces of Taliban targeted Pakistani military centres along the fabricated border line with heavy weapons," the Taliban-installed Ministry of Defence said in a statement.  “The country’s defence and security forces are ready to respond to any aggressive actions and will defend their territorial integrity under all circumstances,” the statement further reads. According to Khama Press, during the armed clashes, the Afghan authorities urged the residents to evacuate the Dand Patan region after Pakistan commenced their bombardment. 

Pak airstrikes kill 6 people in Afghanistan 

Shortly after the strikes, Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesperson, reached out on the matter and mentioned that airstrikes in Khost and Paktika, killed six people including women and children. He also emphasised that there will be “consequences” of such actions. In a subsequent statement, Mujahid said that Pakistan conducted the strike at around 3 am (local time). “Strikes such as these could lead to consequences which are beyond Pakistan's control. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan does not allow anyone to harm anyone's security by using the territory of Afghanistan,” Mujahid averred. Shortly after the strikes, the Taliban regime stated that schools and government offices had been shut down following the attack. 

The attack came a day after Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif claimed that TTP militants were using Afghanistan soil to carry out terrorist attacks inside Pakistan. “Terrorism against us is mostly being conducted from Afghanistan,” the defence minister said while speaking to the media in Sialkot on Sunday, Geo News reported. In the past, Pakistan has often accused Afghan authorities of not taking action against terror operatives operating in the country including the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). In the Sunday press conference, Asif maintained that some of the facilitators of the terrorists have been traced. He went on to reiterate that "those people [foreign nationals] who do not have valid documents would not be allowed to live in Pakistan".