ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday rejected a claim by Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities that their forces had captured a Pakistani military outpost and inflicted casualties, calling the allegation “fabricated” and aimed at misleading public opinion.
The Afghan defense ministry said in a social media post that its forces had seized a Pakistani post, killed 14 soldiers and wounded 11 others and destroyed an armored tank and a military vehicle.
The claim comes amid escalating tensions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, where Islamabad says it has launched targeted operations against militant groups it accuses of using Afghan territory to stage attacks inside Pakistan, allegations the Taliban administration denies.
“This latest claim of the so called Ministry of Defense of Afghan Taliban Regime regarding capturing some post and made up damages etc is false as always, fabricated and designed to mislead Afghan internal public opinion,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MOIB) said in a statement.
The ministry said there was no credible evidence supporting the Taliban’s claims.
Pakistan says it is carrying out targeted operations against militant groups it refers to as “Fitna Al Khawarij,” a term officials use for factions of the Pakistani Taliban and allied fighters.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar also rejected the Afghan claim in a post on social media platform X.
“These false claims have no basis or foundation,” he said. “On the other hand, all the damages and losses being incurred by the Afghan Taliban and their extension Fitna Al Khawarij are updated by Ministry of Information with irrefutable pictorial and video evidence regularly.”
Relations between the two neighbors have deteriorated in recent months, with Pakistan accusing the Taliban government of harboring militants responsible for attacks on Pakistani security forces and civilians, a charge Kabul denies.
The rugged frontier between the two countries has long been volatile, and clashes between border forces have erupted periodically despite diplomatic efforts to ease tensions.
