Major developments in Pak-Afghan border clashes since last night - VIDEO

Fighting sharply escalated along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border after Pakistan launched a new military campaign late Thursday, triggering widespread clashes and airstrikes.

Pakistan announced the start of Operation Ghazab lil-Haq (Righteous Fury), saying it was responding to what it described as unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban across multiple border sectors, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Intense fighting was reported in several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram and Bajaur, according to officials.

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said 133 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and more than 200 injured during the counter-offensive. These figures have not been independently verified.

The Pakistan Air Force conducted airstrikes targeting what it described as military installations in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia. Authorities in Afghanistan acknowledged that strikes had taken place.

State media reported that two brigade headquarters in Kabul were destroyed, along with a corps headquarters and an ammunition depot in Kandahar. Officials also claimed 27 Taliban posts were destroyed and nine captured.

Two Pakistani security personnel were killed in the ongoing clashes, authorities said.

Leaders across Pakistan’s political spectrum, including President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, expressed support for the military, vowing that the country’s territorial integrity would not be compromised.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif accused the Taliban of acting as a proxy and alleged Indian influence in Afghanistan, claims that have heightened political tensions in the region.

The violence has disrupted the repatriation of Afghan families at the Torkham crossing. Families waiting to return were reportedly sent back to a holding centre in Landi Kotal as the border situation remains volatile.

News.Az