Forty-six Afghan soldiers sought refuge in Pakistan after losing control of military positions across the border following advances by Taliban insurgents, Pakistan’s army said on Monday.
Hundreds of Afghan army soldiers and civil officials have fled to neighboring Tajikistan, Iran and Pakistan in recent weeks after Taliban offensives in border areas.
The Afghan military commander requested refuge at the border crossing in Chitral in the north, the Pakistan army said in a statement, adding the soldiers were given safe passage into Pakistan on Sunday night after clearance from Afghan authorities.
“Afghan soldiers have been provided food, shelter and necessary medical care as per established military norms,” the statement said.
The move comes at a time of poor relations between the neighbors. Afghanistan recalled its diplomats from Pakistan after the brief kidnapping of the Afghan ambassador’s daughter in Islamabad earlier in the month.
Afghan officials did not respond to a request for comment.
The Taliban has escalated its offensive since the United States announced in April that it would withdraw its troops by September, ending a 20-year foreign military presence.
Washington has said it will continue to carry out air strikes to support Afghan forces facing insurgent attacks.
Afghan government and Taliban negotiators have met in Qatar’s capital, Doha, in recent weeks, although diplomats say there have been few signs of substantive progress since peace talks began in September.
Reeling from battlefield losses, Afghanistan’s military is overhauling its war strategy against the Taliban to concentrate forces around critical areas such as Kabul and other cities, border crossings and vital infrastructure, Afghan and US officials have said.
The Pakistan army said the soldiers who sought refuge will be returned to Afghanistan after due process, as had taken place in the case of another batch of 35 soldiers earlier in July.
46 Afghan soldiers seek refuge in Pakistan after losing border military posts
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46 Afghan soldiers seek refuge in Pakistan after losing border military posts
- Hundreds of Afghan soldiers and civil officials have fled to neighbouring Tajikistan, Iran and Pakistan in recent weeks
- Taliban has escalated offensive since US announced it would withdraw troops by September, ending 20-year military presence
Magnitude 5.6 earthquake jolts parts of Pakistan, no losses reported
- Tremors were felt in Swat, Peshawar and Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as in the federal capital Islamabad
- Pakistan Meteorological Department measures quake’s depth at 114 km, identifies Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan as epicenter
ISLAMABAD: A 5.6-magnitude earthquake jolted parts of Pakistan on Wednesday evening, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said with no loss of lives or massive damage to property reported.
The tremors were felt in the federal capital, Islamabad, as well as the northwestern cities of Swat, Peshawar and Chitral in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the PMD said.
“An earthquake recorded on 25-02-2026 at 16:12 PST with a 5.6-magnitude and a depth of 114km,” the PMD said in a statement. “Its epicenter was the Hindu Kush Region Afghanistan.”
Earthquakes are common in Afghanistan, particularly along the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet.
In August last year, a shallow 6-magnitude earthquake in eastern Afghanistan flattened mountainside villages and killed more than 2,200 people. Weeks later, a 6.3-magnitude quake in northern Afghanistan killed at least 27.
Powerful tremors struck western Herat in Afghanistan, near the Iranian border, in 2023, and the Nangarhar province in 2022, killing hundreds and destroying thousands of homes.
