Afghanistan on Sunday claimed to have killed 58 Pakistani soldiers and captured 25 army posts in overnight operations along the border, accusing Islamabad of repeated violations of its territory and airspace.

The announcement came days after Afghan authorities accused Pakistan of bombing the capital Kabul and a market in eastern Afghanistan. Pakistan has not claimed responsibility for those attacks.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a press conference in Kabul that 58 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 30 others wounded during the operations. “The situation on all official borders and de facto lines of Afghanistan is under complete control, and illegal activities have been largely prevented,” he said.

There was no immediate confirmation from Pakistan regarding casualties.

Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said its forces carried out “retaliatory and successful operations” in response to cross-border violations. “If the opposing side again violates Afghanistan’s territorial integrity, our armed forces are fully prepared to defend the nation’s borders and will deliver a strong response,” the ministry warned.

Heavy clashes were reported Saturday night in several northwestern border districts of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, including Chitral, Bajaur, Mohmand, Angoor Adda, and Kurram, according to a senior Pakistani security official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Pakistani forces reportedly responded with heavy shelling near Tirah in Khyber district and across the frontier in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.

The Torkham and Chaman crossings—two major trade routes between the neighboring countries—remained closed on Sunday morning.

Before Kabul’s claim of casualties, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had said the army “gave a befitting reply to Afghanistan’s provocations and destroyed several of their posts, forcing them to retreat.”

Pakistan has previously carried out strikes inside Afghanistan, targeting what it says are hideouts of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Islamabad accuses Afghan authorities of harboring TTP members involved in deadly attacks inside Pakistan, a claim Kabul denies.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia urged both sides to exercise restraint. In a statement Saturday night, its foreign ministry called for “dialogue and wisdom to de-escalate tensions and maintain regional stability.”

The two countries share a 2,611-kilometer (1,622-mile) border known as the Durand Line, which Afghanistan has never officially recognized.
 
 
 Source: AP