Information Minister says 81 places in Afghanistan are targets of airstrikes
A Pakistani army soldier stands guard at a border terminal in Ghulam Khan, a town in North Waziristan, on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Photo: AFP
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Sunday that 796 Afghan Taliban militants have been killed and more than 1,043 wounded during the ongoing “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq” launched in response to “unprovoked action” from across the Afghan border.
The operation resumed after a temporary pause in deference to Eidul Fitr celebrations and requests from Islamic countries. The break ended at midnight between March 23 and 24. The operation was launched over a month ago in retaliation for the Afghan Taliban forces firing at several locations. Islamabad said its airstrikes in February that triggered the escalation were targeting terrorists. Islamabad accused Afghanistan of failing to act against terrorist groups that carry out attacks in Pakistan, which the Taliban government denied.
Giving a summary of the Afghan Taliban regime’s losses on its X account, the information minister said 286 checkpoints had been destroyed and 44 others captured by Pakistani security forces.
“Two hundred and forty-nine tanks, armored vehicles and artillery guns have also been destroyed during the operation,” he said.
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The minister added that airstrikes actually targeted 81 locations in Afghanistan.
✅Operation Ghazb lil Haq
✅Update at 17.00 5. 26 April✅ Summary of Fitna Al Khawarij / Afghan Taliban losses
▪️796 killed,
▪️1043+ injured
▪️286 posts destroyed
▪️44 posts captured
▪️249 tanks, armored vehicles, artillery guns, drones destroyed
▪️81 terrorists and…— Attaullah Tarar (@TararAttaullah) 5 April 2026
“As part of these operations on the night of 2/3 April, an attempt to physically attack a border post in the Ghulam Khan Sector by the Afghan Taliban/FAK (Fitna al-Khawarij) were comprehensively repulsed, suffering heavy casualties, including up to 37 sent to hell and 80+ wounded,” Tarar said.
China, which shares a western border with both nations, has tried to mediate between the allies-turned-foes, holding phone calls with their foreign ministers and sending a special envoy to visit in March.
It said on Friday that talks between the two were progressing steadily, following reports that the neighbors met in China to try to end their worst conflict since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
“Both Pakistan and Afghanistan attach importance to and welcome China’s mediation and are willing to sit down for talks again, which is a positive development,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said at a daily news conference.
The fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which started in October, has killed dozens of people on both sides, with the Afghans taking the brunt.
Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of harboring militants who launch attacks in Pakistan, although Kabul denies this, calling the militancy its neighbor’s domestic problem.
