Taliban official claims forces crossed Durand Line into Pakistan amid border clashes

Mohammad Naim Wardak, deputy financial and administrative minister of the Taliban's Foreign Ministry, claimed that Taliban forces have crossed the Durand Line and intense fighting is ongoing on the other side.

In a post on X, Wardak stated that the clashes are targeting Pakistani military bases beyond the Durand Line. He added: "If the war prolongs and we want to, we can make good progress in Pakistani soil."

Pakistani officials have not responded to the claim.

The statement comes as intense border clashes and Pakistani airstrikes on parts of Afghanistan, including Kabul, Taliban military centers and Bagram air base, entered their fourth day. Pakistani forces have used fighter jets and drones in the attacks.

Taliban officials claimed that in clashes Saturday night alone, 32 Pakistani soldiers were killed and several of their border posts captured.

Pakistan's Information Minister Ataullah Tarar countered in a post on X that Pakistani forces struck 46 targets in Afghanistan, killing 415 Taliban members and wounding 580 others. Tarar said 182 Taliban posts were destroyed, 31 captured by Pakistani forces, and 185 Taliban tanks, military vehicles and equipment destroyed.