‘Operation Ghazab-lil-Haq’: 58 Afghan Fighters Killed as Pakistan Intensifies Border Response

By Naeem Hanif

ISLAMABAD (RNN TV) — At least 58 Afghan fighters were killed and more than 100 injured as Pakistani security forces launched a large-scale retaliatory action, codenamed ‘Operation Ghazab-lil-Haq’, in response to what officials described as cross-border incursions and unprovoked aggression along the Pak-Afghan frontier.

According to security sources, 12 Afghan posts were completely destroyed and five others were captured during the operation. A major ammunition depot, three Afghan battalion headquarters and a sector headquarters were also “fully destroyed” in coordinated ground and aerial strikes.

Officials said more than 30 tanks, artillery guns and armoured personnel carriers (APCs) were destroyed in the course of the engagement. “Effective and intense counterstrikes are continuing,” a security source said, adding that the operation was aimed at neutralising positions allegedly used for cross-border attacks.

The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) also carried out strikes during Operation Ghazab-lil-Haq. Security officials claimed that a large ammunition depot inside Nangarhar province was destroyed, while further aerial targeting was under way. Sources indicated that additional strikes were expected against identified targets in Kabul and Kandahar.

In the Kurram sector, Pakistani forces launched what officials termed a “full and forceful” response to alleged infiltration attempts by Afghan Taliban fighters. Several militant hideouts near the border were destroyed, and eight additional fighters were killed, according to the sources.

Security officials further claimed that Afghan Taliban personnel vacated positions at the Torkham border crossing following Pakistan’s response. According to the sources, the fighters withdrew with equipment loaded onto trucks after what was described as “unprovoked aggression.”

“Pakistan’s armed forces are fully prepared to defend the motherland against any act of aggression,” a security official said, adding that any future violations of the country’s territorial integrity would be met with a decisive response.

Independent verification of the casualty figures and damage claims was not immediately possible. Afghan authorities had not issued an official statement at the time this report was filed.

Tensions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border have sharply escalated in recent days, with both sides trading accusations of ceasefire violations and cross-border firing.