This is one of those stories that you genuinely did not expect to wake up to. Pakistan has launched full scale airstrikes against Afghan Taliban military installations in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia under what is being called Operation Ghazab Lil-Haq, and what has unfolded in the last 24 hours is something that most people thought they would never see in their lifetime.
Security sources confirmed that Pakistani forces have taken control of five Afghan posts in the Paktia region opposite South Waziristan and raised the Pakistani flag. Two posts in Shawal, two in Angoor Adda, and one in Zarmelan. The Afghan terminal at Angoor Adda has been destroyed, two brigade headquarters in Kabul have been wiped out, and the Afghan Taliban’s core headquarters in Kandahar has also been taken out. The Pakistan Air Force has been running strikes in Nangarhar province as well, going after militant infrastructure that has been used to plan and launch cross border attacks against Pakistan for years now.
The numbers being reported are honestly hard to process. PM spokesperson Mosharraf Zaidi confirmed 133 Afghan Taliban fighters killed, over 200 wounded, with even more casualties estimated from the strikes in Kabul, Paktia and Kandahar. Twenty seven Taliban posts destroyed, nine captured. Two corps headquarters, three brigade headquarters, two ammunition depots, one logistics base, three battalion headquarters, two sector headquarters, and more than 80 tanks, artillery guns and armored vehicles destroyed. Pakistan has also lost two soldiers who embraced shahadat while defending their homeland, with three others wounded.
What set all of this off was the Afghan Taliban opening unprovoked fire at multiple points along the Pakistan Afghanistan border. They also tried using quadcopters to hit Pakistani check posts, which honestly says a lot about how they were approaching this. Every single drone was shot down. Taliban fighters were later seen loading their belongings onto trucks and fleeing from the Torkham border in what security sources described as a full panic retreat. At several Afghan outposts, white flags have reportedly been raised.
Back home the government has spoken with one voice on this. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif was direct about it, saying the armed forces are delivering a decisive response to Taliban aggression that he says is being backed by India. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar took aim at the propaganda machine running on both the Afghan Taliban side and Indian social media accounts, calling it an attempt to cover up their failures on the ground. Talal Chaudhry went further, pointing out the Taliban’s guerrilla mindset and warning that just like Pakistan dealt with threats from the east, it will deal with threats from the west too.
The world is watching this very carefully. Deputy PM Ishaq Dar spoke with Turkish FM Hakan Fidan and made it clear that Pakistan acted in legitimate self defense. Russia called for both sides to stop cross border attacks and offered to mediate if needed. Iran said it is ready to help facilitate dialogue, with FM Abbas Araghchi personally putting out a statement. China expressed deep concern and called for an immediate ceasefire, urging calm and restraint from both sides.
Look, nobody really saw things getting this bad this quickly. But here we are. Pakistan hit back hard and the message is pretty straightforward at this point. You mess with the border, you mess with Pakistani soldiers, and there will be consequences. The Taliban found that out the hard way. Whether things cool down from here or get worse, that is something only time will tell. But Pakistan is clearly done talking.
