KEY POINTS
- Pakistan conducts precision strikes on Afghan Taliban hideouts in Kandahar, destroying key operational bases.
- The strikes targeted and eliminated Battalion No. 4 and Border Brigade No. 6 of the Afghan Taliban.
- Dozens of terrorists, including foreign operatives, were killed in the operation.
- Earlier, Pakistani forces repelled Afghan Taliban and allied terrorist groups’ cross-border attacks.
- Pakistan accused the Taliban regime of sheltering terrorist groups targeting Pakistan.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan military carried out “precision strikes” against key hideouts of the Afghan Taliban in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, destroying major operational bases and eliminating dozens of terrorists, including “foreign operatives” in retaliation to the Afghan Taliban and allied terrorist groups’ aggression against Pakistan, security sources said on Wednesday.
According to security sources, the strikes were launched in response to recent cross-border aggression by the Afghan Taliban. The precision operation successfully targeted and destroyed the Afghan Taliban’s Battalion No. 4 and Border Brigade No. 6 — key units believed to be involved in planning attacks along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The security sources added that several hideouts were completely destroyed during the operation, resulting in heavy losses to terrorists. Among those killed were several “foreign and Afghan operatives” associated with the group’s cross-border networks.
“Pakistan Army is fully capable of giving a severe and complete response to any external aggression,” the security sources said.
Pakistani forces thwart cross-border assaults
Earlier today, Pakistan’s military said that the country’s security forces repelled multiple cross-border attacks launched from Afghanistan overnight, accusing the Afghanistan interim regime of sheltering terrorists who continue to target Pakistan’s border regions.
پاک فوج کی افغان طالبان کی جارحیت پر جوابی کارروائی ، اہم ٹھکانے تباہ کردیئے
پاک فوج کی جانب سے افغان طالبان کے اہم ٹھکانوں کو کامیابی سے نشانہ بنایا گیا، سکیورٹی ذرائع
یہ Precision Strikes افغان صوبہ قندھار میں کی گئیں، سکیورٹی ذرائع
ان سٹرائیکس کے نتیجے میں افغان طالبان… pic.twitter.com/tFmRFvj5F4
— PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) October 15, 2025
In a statement, Pakistan military media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said Afghan Taliban carried out “cowardly attacks” at four locations in the Spin Boldak area of Balochistan in the early hours of 15 October, while additional raids were attempted in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
According to the ISPR, the attacks were “effectively repulsed” with heavy losses inflicted on the aggressors. Around 15–20 Taliban militants were killed in Spin Boldak and up to 30 in Kurram, where Pakistani troops destroyed eight posts and six tanks in what it described as a “proportionate yet decisive” response.
Pakistan blames Kabul for sheltering terror networks
The military accused Afghanistan’s Taliban regime of failing to curb cross-border terrorism and turning a blind eye to terrorist groups operating freely inside Afghan territory and carrying out terror attacks inside Pakistan.
“These cowardly attacks, orchestrated through divided villages, show complete disregard for civilian populations,” the ISPR said, adding that the destruction of the Pak-Afghan Friendship Gate on the Afghan side “illustrates the mindset” of a regime unwilling to respect cross-border trade or tribal easement rights.
Islamabad said the presence of Fitna al-Khawarij—a group linked to banned anti-Pakistan networks—alongside Taliban units underscores the nexus between terrorist outfits operating under Kabul’s protection.
The ISPR noted reports of fresh terrorist build-ups across staging points inside Afghanistan, warning that “any act of aggression against Pakistan will be met with full force.”
Islamabad demands action from Kabul
Rejecting Kabul’s claims that Pakistan initiated the clashes, the ISPR called such allegations “outrageous and blatant lies,” accusing the Taliban regime of spreading false propaganda to divert attention from its failure to control terrorist elements.
Islamabad urged Afghanistan’s leadership to take immediate and verifiable action against terror sanctuaries and non-state actors targeting Pakistan, warning that continued inaction could “seriously endanger regional peace and stability.”
“The Armed Forces of Pakistan stand resolute and fully prepared to defend every inch of our territory,” the statement read, reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to peace but vowing to retaliate against any future provocations.
