KABUL: The spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Taliban government, Zabihullah Mujahid, has claimed on Sunday that retaliatory operations carried out by Taliban forces in response to Pakistani attacks on Afghan territory resulted in the deaths of 58 Pakistani security personnel and injuries to 30 others.
Speaking at a press conference in Kabul, Mujahid said that Taliban fighters had temporarily captured 20 Pakistani border posts during the clashes but later returned them once the fighting ended.
He also confirmed that nine Taliban fighters were killed and 18 others were wounded during the confrontations.
Following the border clashes, trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been suspended, disrupting the movement of goods and passengers through key crossing points along the frontier.
Mujahid accused Pakistan of harboring the leadership of the Islamic State (ISIS) and claimed the group remains active in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. He asserted that ISIS has been eliminated from Afghanistan, but its training centers now operate inside Pakistan, calling on the international community to take notice.
He further alleged that recent attacks in Afghanistan were carried out by ISIS militants who entered from Pakistan.
In a pointed statement, Mujahid said that the Pakistan Army is unhappy with Afghanistan’s peace and progress, accusing certain elements within the Pakistani military of trying to undermine stability in the region.
Regarding regional diplomacy, Mujahid clarified that the Afghan Foreign Minister’s visit to India was not directed against any country, stressing that no nation should view it with suspicion.
