Pakistan: ‘Large Group of Terrorists’ Storm Border from Afghanistan, 16 Killed

The Pakistani military said Wednesday that its border forces repelled an attack from a “large group of terrorists” from Afghanistan. The invaders attacked two Pakistani outposts in the Kalash valley using the “latest weapons,” which is how Pakistani officials often refer to the American equipment abandoned in Afghanistan during President Joe Biden’s disastrous 2021 withdrawal.

Pakistan reported a total of 16 casualties during the “intense exchange of fire,” including four Pakistani soldiers and 12 terrorists.

The Pakistani military claimed it detected the “terrorists’s movement and concentration” on the other side of the border before the attack, and duly reported these movements to the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan.

The Taliban apparently did little to thwart the attack, because Pakistan’s statement concluded by reminding the regime in Kabul of its obligation to “deny the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for perpetuating acts of terrorism against Pakistan.”

Responsibility for the attack was quickly claimed by Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the so-called “Pakistani Taliban,” a militant group with doctrinal similarities to the Afghan Taliban. TTP was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States in 2010.

TTP’s stated goal is to push Pakistani forces out of the Afghan border region and establish an Islamist “caliphate” like the one created in Syria and Iraq by the Islamic State. In the longer term, TTP hopes to overthrow the Pakistani government and absorb the entire country into its “caliphate.”

TTP told a very different story about the border battle, claiming its forces inflicted heavy losses on the Pakistanis and captured “various villages.”

“We have captured the check posts, took possession of weapons and other items, and also killed six soldiers,” the terrorist organization claimed.

“We will share pictures. Currently, we are having poor Internet issues,” a TTP commander apologized in a telephone interview with The Khorasan Diary, an independent regional media organization.

“We want to say to the people of Chitral that you should remain calm. No harm will come to you. Our war is against usurping and oppressive security agencies,” the TTP told area residents in a statement.

The main border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan was closed for the second day in a row on Thursday as security forces from both countries exchanged fire. A Taliban spokesman claimed it was unclear to the regime’s central leadership why Taliban fighters were shooting at Pakistani soldiers.

On Monday, Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar blamed Biden’s bungled withdrawal in 2021 for unleashing a wave of terrorism across the Afghan border. Kakar said the combat power of these terrorists has been “greatly enhanced” by the equipment Biden abandoned in Afghanistan.