What Is Pakistan’s Operation Ghazab Lil Haq? Over 130 Killed In Pakistan-Afghanistan Clashes
Pakistan has announced the launch of Operation Ghazab Lil Haq following deadly cross-border clashes with Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government along the Durand Line.
Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have flared into one of the most serious confrontations in recent years, with Islamabad announcing the launch of “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq” in response to what it described as aggression from Afghan Taliban forces along the Durand Line.
State broadcaster PTV News reported that the operation was initiated after Kabul claimed its forces had killed 55 Pakistani soldiers in cross-border strikes. Afghanistan’s Deputy Spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat said Taliban units had seized 19 Pakistani military outposts and captured a headquarters at Anzar Sar in Khost province.
Fitrat wrote on X that “heavy retaliatory offensive operations” were launched by the 203 Mansouri Corps and the 201 Khalid bin Walid Corps. He claimed up to 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed, with several bodies recovered and others taken alive, and said operations were ongoing across Paktia, Paktika and Nangarhar, including the Torkham Gate crossing.
Conflicting Casualty Claims
Islamabad has strongly rejected Kabul’s figures. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said two Pakistani soldiers were killed and three wounded, while 36 Afghan fighters had died in the fighting. He described the Afghan claims as exaggerated and termed the cross-border action “unprovoked aggression.”
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the armed forces were delivering a “crushing response” and urged provincial authorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to coordinate closely with the federal government. Tarar later said that 133 people had been killed and over 200 injured in the broader exchange of fire, without providing a breakdown of civilian and military casualties.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid defended the Afghan offensive, saying it followed repeated Pakistani air assaults. Earlier this week, Pakistan confirmed it carried out airstrikes near the border targeting what it described as militant training camps.
Durand Line Flashpoint
The Durand Line, a long-contested border demarcation dating back to the colonial era, has frequently been a source of friction. Pakistan accuses Afghan-based militants of staging attacks inside Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, while Kabul rejects the boundary’s legitimacy and accuses Islamabad of violating Afghan sovereignty.
Afghanistan’s authorities said Pakistani airstrikes killed civilians, including women and children. Islamabad maintains the strikes targeted armed groups responsible for violence inside Pakistan. Heavy shelling and evacuations have been reported near the Torkham border crossing, a critical trade artery between the two countries.
Exchanges of fire have also been reported near Spin Boldak, raising concerns that localised clashes could spiral into a broader confrontation. With both sides trading sharply divergent narratives and casualty figures, diplomatic channels appear strained.