Pakistan Army responded immediately and destroyed the gun position by firing from across the border.
An army soldier stands guard at a deserted entry point at the Friendship Gate, following exchanges of fire between Pakistani and Afghan forces, at the border crossing between the two countries, in Chaman, Pakistan, on February 27, 2026. Photo taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Abdul Khaliq Achakzai
Three civilians, including two children, were martyred and three others were injured on Wednesday when Afghan Taliban forces carried out unprovoked shelling on locals in a border area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district, according to state media.
The incident marks a renewed episode of cross-border aggression after a gap of more than a month, following Operation Ghazab Lil Haq launched by Pakistan in response to earlier unprovoked hostility from the Afghan side.
In a publication on X, state broadcaster PTV News said, quoting security sources, that “unprovoked aggression by the Indian-backed Afghan Taliban against civilians in the border village of Malak Shahin in Kat Kot area of Bajaur” killed a woman and two children from the same house, while three were seriously injured, who were later taken to hospital for treatment.
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“The Afghan Taliban have been trying to infiltrate a formation of the khawarij mischievous people in Pakistan during the last few days. Due to the timely action of the Pakistan Army, the attempt to infiltrate the khawarij the mischief-makers was thwarted. Frustrated by this failure, the Afghan Taliban today attacked Pakistani civilians in Kat Kot,” the statement said.
He added that the Pakistani army responded immediately and destroyed the gun position by firing from across the border.
He further said that Pakistani forces were also attacking Afghan Taliban posts along the Bajaur border, causing heavy losses and inflicting heavy casualties on the Afghan Taliban.
“Residents of Bajaur have strongly condemned this cowardly act and expressed full solidarity with the security forces. The security forces remain vigilant and determined at all times to protect the lives and properties of the people and establish lasting peace in the area. The attacks by the Afghan Taliban on the civilian population are clear proof of their nefarious intentions and frustration,” the statement said.
ٹاپ بریکنگ
افغان طالبان آبادی پر گولہ باری ،2بچوں سمیت 3 افرادشہید، 3شدید زخمیبھارتی حمایت یافتہ افغان طالبان کی باجوڑ کے سرحدی علاقے کٹ کوٹ » ذرائع
بلا اشتعال گولہ باری نتیجے میں ایک… pic.twitter.com/6u37avUZKQ
– PTV News (@PTVNewsOfficial) April 15, 2026
Operation Ghazab Lil Haq was launched in late February following fresh clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, after Afghan Taliban forces fired at multiple locations, prompting swift military retaliation by Pakistan.
Since then, neighboring countries have intensified hostilities along the border. Clashes intensified after Afghanistan launched a border offensive in response to Pakistani airstrikes on terrorist positions and subsided during a temporary ceasefire on the occasion of Eidul Fitr.
The escalation of tensions between the two countries followed a series of tit-for-tat actions over the past year.
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Pakistan previously carried out airstrikes against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) camps and the Islamic State’s Khorasan province inside Afghanistan after a wave of attacks in Pakistan, including a suicide bombing in Islamabad.
Islamabad has long maintained that TTP leaders operate from Afghan territory, a charge Kabul has repeatedly denied.
Tensions also rose after a series of explosions in Kabul on October 9 last year. Taliban forces subsequently attacked areas along the border with Pakistan, prompting Islamabad to respond with cross-border bombings.
The exchanges caused casualties and damage to infrastructure on both sides and led to the suspension of trade after the closure of border crossings on October 12, 2025.
