Pakistan-Afghanistan clash: 13 Afghan Taliban killed at Gulistan border, ministry says

Update, Saturday 26 September 2026, 6:45am PKT: The Ministry of Information says at least 13 Afghan Taliban personnel were killed and several injured when security forces thwarted an attempted incursion in the Gulistan sector on the night of 24 to 25 September, and in the "heavy punishment" that followed on Taliban posts. The ministry rejected as "fake and fabricated" Kabul's claim that a Pakistani post near Spin Boldak was destroyed and that Afghan forces took no casualties, and released video of the engagement. No Pakistani casualties have been reported.

Separately, ISPR says 33 terrorists have been killed in Balochistan since 21 September: 22 in the continuing "Operation Shaban" and 11 in an intelligence-based operation in Nushki district on 25 September.

At the UN General Assembly on Thursday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif named the TTP and BLA as operating from Afghan soil and asked Kabul for "verifiable action": what he said at UNGA.

Friday 25 September

Update, Friday 25 September 2026, 9:30am PKT: Fighting has moved to the Balochistan border. Pakistani security forces say they foiled an attempt by Afghan Taliban fighters to cross in the Gulistan sector in Qila Abdullah district on Thursday night, 24 September, killing "several" of them, state news agency APP reported citing security sources. Intermittent firing continued after midnight. Neither side has given a confirmed casualty figure, and no Pakistani losses were reported.

In Kabul, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistan's strikes earlier in the week hit Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces and promised "an appropriate response", Al Jazeera reported. At the UN in New York, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan would keep responding to attacks launched from Afghanistan.

If you are travelling to or through Chaman or Qila Abdullah, check with the district administration before setting out: we had found no official announcement closing the Chaman crossing by Friday morning.

Thursday: strikes on 10 locations

Pakistan struck 10 locations inside Afghanistan early on Thursday, 24 September 2026, a day after its air defences brought down eight drones that crossed from Afghan territory near Torkham and Kohat. Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced the strikes, calling them "deliberate, precise, calibrated and proportionate" and limited to military targets that he said were used to launch and store the drones.

What Pakistan says it hit

• 10 locations in Afghanistan, hit with aerial and drone strikes before dawn on Thursday.
• The targets were described as sites used for "launching and storing" drones. The government has not named the places, and none of the Pakistani statements carried a casualty figure for the strikes.
• Tarar said Pakistan would "neither accept nor tolerate" attacks from Afghan soil and warned of an "immediate and decisive response" to any further violation.

The drones that triggered it

On Wednesday, 23 September, eight drones entered Pakistani airspace from Afghanistan. Four were shot down near the Torkham border crossing and four over the hills around Kohat, according to security officials quoted by Geo News. No casualties or damage were reported from the drones themselves. We covered the interceptions here: Eight drones shot down near Torkham and Kohat.

What Kabul says

Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied on Wednesday that Afghan forces had carried out any attack on Pakistan, the Associated Press reported. Earlier in the week, Afghan officials said Pakistani strikes on Monday killed at least three civilians and wounded four; Pakistan said those strikes killed 28 militants. Neither side's figures can be independently checked.

Why this week has been tense

The strikes follow a run of attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: a suicide bombing and gunbattle at the Kohat police compound and mosque in which more than 20 people were killed, and a shootout in Hangu district that left six dead. Pakistan blames the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and says it operates from Afghanistan. Mediation between the two governments by China, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia is now under strain.

What it means for you

• Travel and trade through Torkham: no official closure of the crossing had been announced by Thursday morning. If you or your goods are due to cross, check with the Khyber district administration or your clearing agent before setting out.
• Security in KP and the twin cities: Rangers are already deployed in Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum and Mianwali until 5 October, and mobile and internet suspensions had been announced for Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Attock on 26 and 27 September ahead of the PTI march, which PTI has since moved to 4 October (latest on the march). Details: Section 144 in Islamabad and the internet shutdown dates.
• Markets: escalation with a neighbour tends to show up first in the stock market and the rupee. Follow the index on our KSE-100 page and the rupee on the dollar rate page.

We will keep updating this page as the situation on the border changes.