Over 600 Afghan Taliban killed as Pakistan continues strikes on Ghazab lil-Haq

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Thursday that at least 641 members of the Afghan Taliban were killed and more than 855 injured during Operation Ghazab Lil Haq, launched in response to what Islamabad described as “unprovoked action” from across the Afghan border.

Operation Ghazab Lil Haq was launched last month following renewed clashes along the Pakistan-Afghan border after Afghan Taliban forces fired on several locations, prompting rapid military retaliation from Pakistan.

Since then, neighboring countries have engaged in an escalation of hostilities along the border. The clashes intensified after Afghanistan launched a border offensive in response to previous Pakistani airstrikes targeting terrorist positions.

In an update shared on his official X account, Tarar said security forces inflicted heavy casualties on militant positions across the border during the operation.

According to the minister, 243 checkpoints used by the Afghan Taliban have been destroyed so far, while 42 others were captured and subsequently destroyed by Pakistani forces.

A total of 219 tanks, armored vehicles and artillery guns were destroyed during the operation, Tarar added.

He further said that Pakistani forces were carrying out air operations targeting several terrorist sites across Afghanistan.

“Sixty-five sites across Afghanistan were effectively targeted from the air,” Tarar said.

According to the public channel Radio Pakistanarmed forces continue retaliatory strikes against Afghan Taliban fighters and militants described as Fitna al-Khawarij.

Security sources said Pakistani army units targeted several Afghan Taliban posts in the Zhob sector along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

The strikes forced Afghan Taliban fighters to withdraw from their positions, abandoning their posts and leaving behind their weapons during the operation.

Security officials said Pakistani troops seized Russian-made 73mm HGL-9 heavy grenade launchers from positions previously held by the Afghan Taliban regime.

In a separate action, Pakistan Army forces targeted and destroyed another Afghan Taliban post along the Pakistan-Afghan border near the Shawal area of ​​North Waziristan.

The latest escalation in tensions between the two countries follows a series of retaliatory actions over the past year.

Pakistan had earlier carried out airstrikes against camps of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State’s Khorasan province in Afghanistan after a wave of attacks in Pakistan, including a suicide bombing in Islamabad.

Learn more: 13 terrorists killed in intelligence operations in KP

Pakistani security sources said more than 80 terrorists were killed in the strikes. The strikes provoked attacks from Afghanistan along the border, leading to the outbreak of the latest round of open conflict.

Islamabad has long maintained that TTP leaders operate from Afghan territory, an allegation that Kabul has repeatedly denied.

Tensions also increased after a series of explosions in Kabul on October 9 last year. Taliban forces then targeted areas along the Pakistani border, prompting Islamabad to respond with cross-border bombings. The exchanges caused casualties and damage to infrastructure on both sides and led to the suspension of trade after the closure of border crossings on October 12, 2025.