55 Pakistani soldiers killed in retaliatory action by Afghan army, Pak Defense Minister said – Now ‘open war’ continues with Afghanistan

Islamabad. Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said that “the patience of our country has now given way” and now an “open war” is going on against Afghanistan. Islamabad had claimed that there was a cross-border attack from Afghanistan, after which it retaliated and attacks started from both sides. After this this statement of Asif has come.

The Defense Minister posted on ‘X’ and said, “Pakistan had hoped that after the withdrawal of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) forces, peace would be established in Afghanistan and the Taliban would focus on the well-being of the people of Afghanistan and stability in the region….” He said, “Our patience has now paid off.” Now there is a situation of open war between us.” There has been no reaction from Afghan government officials on Asif’s comments.

According to Pakistani officials and Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, Pakistan carried out airstrikes on the Afghan capital Kabul, Kandahar in the south and Paktia province in the south-east. Pakistan says the attacks were in response to cross-border attacks by Afghanistan.

The ceasefire brokered by Qatar seems to be weakening due to intensified attacks between neighboring countries. The governments of both countries have made diametrically opposed claims about the number of casualties and have said that they have inflicted heavy losses on each other. However these claims could not be independently verified.

Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said overnight that 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed, some of whose bodies were brought to Afghanistan. The ministry also said that “several other soldiers were captured.” He said eight of his soldiers were killed and 11 were injured. The Afghan ministry claimed that 19 posts and two military bases of the Pakistani army were damaged.

He said the fighting subsided around midnight, about four hours after it began on Thursday. Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that two Pakistani soldiers were killed and three were injured. Pakistan Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s spokesperson Mosharraf Ali Zaidi has denied that any Pakistani soldier has been captured. He said in a post on ‘X’ that at least 133 Afghan fighters were killed and more than 200 were wounded.

He also said that 27 Afghan posts were destroyed and nine fighters were captured. However, he did not specify where these casualties occurred, but said that they had caused significant damage in the attacks on military bases in Kabul, Paktia and Kandahar. Two senior security officials in Islamabad said Afghan forces had raised white flags at some border posts, which is generally seen as a request to stop firing.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Pakistani troops were responding appropriately to “unprovoked actions” by Afghanistan’s Taliban government and had destroyed several key Taliban posts along the border. Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Asif also accused the Taliban government of depriving the citizens of Afghanistan of basic human rights, including women’s rights.

However, he did not provide any details or evidence to support his allegations. He said that Pakistan has tried to maintain stability both directly and through friendly countries. He said, “Today when an attempt was made to target Pakistan with aggression, our armed forces are giving a decisive response.” Pakistani officials said Afghan refugees waiting to return to their country from the northwestern Torkham border have been moved back to safer places since the beginning of the conflict.

Pakistan had launched a massive operation to evict undocumented migrants in October 2023. Since then, lakhs of people have crossed the border and returned to Afghanistan. According to the UN refugee agency, 2.9 million people returned to Afghanistan last year alone. So far this year, about 80 thousand people have gone back.