Islamabad, March 6, 2026: Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced on Friday that 527 Afghan Taliban operatives have been killed and over 755 injured during the ongoing Operation Ghazab Lil Haq, launched in response to “unprovoked action” from across the Afghan border.
The operation, initiated late Thursday, followed renewed clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border after Afghan Taliban forces fired on multiple Pakistani positions, prompting swift military retaliation. Tensions have been escalating since February 26, when Afghanistan launched a border offensive in response to Pakistani air strikes.
Minister Tarar reported that 237 Taliban check posts were destroyed and 38 captured, while 205 tanks, armoured vehicles, and artillery guns were also destroyed. 62 locations across Afghanistan were targeted during air strikes. The Pakistan Army destroyed several posts in Kurram sector and terrorist hideouts near Zhob and Qila Saifullah, forcing Taliban forces to retreat, according to security sources and state-run Radio Pakistan.
Humanitarian concerns are mounting as Volker Turk, the UN rights chief, reported 56 Afghan civilians killed, including 24 children and six women, with 129 more injured. Since the start of the year, 69 civilians have reportedly died and 141 were injured in Afghanistan due to cross-border clashes.
The UN refugee agency said roughly 115,000 Afghans and 3,000 people in Pakistan have been displaced over the past week due to the fighting. Civilians are fleeing air strikes, artillery fire, mortar shelling, and gunfire on both sides of the border.
Turk urged both Pakistan and Afghan forces to immediately halt fighting and prioritize humanitarian aid, highlighting that over two million Afghans have returned to Afghanistan under Pakistan’s Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan since September 2023. Many remain in Pakistan under precarious conditions, facing constant fear of arrest or deportation.
Pakistan maintains that no civilians have been killed by its forces, though casualty figures from both sides are difficult to independently verify. The military operation is expected to continue until “credible guarantees and concrete steps” are taken by Kabul to halt support for terrorist activities along the border.
The intensifying conflict has affected multiple Afghan provinces, including strikes on Kabul, Kandahar, and the former US airbase at Bagram. Humanitarian agencies continue to warn of growing displacement and worsening conditions for civilians caught in the crossfire.
