Reporting snapshot · 25 September 2026. Pakistani security sources said on Thursday night that Afghan Taliban fighters had attempted to enter Pakistan in the Gulistan sector along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and that security forces had killed several of them in a retaliatory operation, with intermittent firing continuing after midnight. This is a dated snapshot built on the state news agency APP's account and on the reporting of The News International, Geo News and Dawn, all citing security sources; the account could not be independently verified and Kabul had not publicly responded to the specific Gulistan incident at the time of writing.
What happened
Pakistan’s security forces foiled an attempt by Afghan Taliban fighters to carry out an attack in the Gulistan sector along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, killing several Taliban personnel in a retaliatory operation, security sources said on Thursday, The News International reported. Intermittent firing between Pakistani security forces and Afghan Taliban fighters was continuing, the sources said, with troops described as alert and vigilant along the border.
The state news agency APP reported from Quetta that the Afghan Taliban had attempted to enter Pakistani territory and carry out an act of aggression, that security forces had responded effectively, and that several Afghan Taliban had been killed. The agency quoted security sources as saying an intermittent exchange of fire was still continuing. Geo News reported that security forces had foiled the attempted incursion, responding swiftly and inflicting casualties on the Afghan Taliban. Dawn reported, citing the same state-media account, that the intermittent exchange of fire was ongoing after midnight.
The clash followed hours of other activity along the frontier. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar had said earlier on Thursday that Pakistan had carried out precision aerial and drone strikes at 10 locations inside Afghanistan in response to drones launched from Afghan territory a day earlier — an operation KhabarWire covered on 24 September. Those strikes came after Pakistan’s air defences said they had shot down eight drones that entered the country’s airspace on 23 September, four near the Torkham border and four in mountainous areas near Kohat — an episode KhabarWire covered at the time.
What officials said
In a statement carried by The News International and Geo News, Tarar said Pakistan did not seek escalation and remained committed to regional peace, dialogue and constructive engagement, but that this commitment must not be mistaken for weakness or unlimited tolerance of hostile actions. “Pakistan will defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and the lives of its citizens with full resolve and will take all necessary measures to protect them,” he said. “Any further provocative act by Afghan Taliban will be responded to with a firm and resolute response.”
The remarks echoed his earlier strike announcement, in which he described the Wednesday drone incursions as a “blatant violation” of Pakistan’s sovereignty and said Islamabad would “neither accept nor tolerate” attacks launched from Afghan territory. Security sources, quoted through the state media, said the security forces were fully prepared to respond promptly to any further infiltration or aggression from Afghan soil. Dawn reported that Pakistani troops destroyed several Afghan Army border posts along the border after Afghan Taliban forces shelled Pakistani border villages on Thursday night, with the Afghan side falling silent after a retaliatory action; that detail could not be independently confirmed.
Why the border is erupting again
The Gulistan incident is the latest episode in a confrontation that has run at varying intensity since late February, when Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq after it said Afghan forces opened fire on its border posts. The two sides agreed to a ceasefire in October 2025 following earlier clashes, but it has not held: since late February the neighbours have exchanged airstrikes, drone attacks, artillery and mortar fire and cross-border raids, with both sides reporting heavy losses and disputing casualty figures.
Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering militant groups, above all the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it says launch attacks from Afghan soil; Kabul denies the allegation and says militancy is Pakistan’s domestic problem. Pakistani authorities use the term Fitna al-Khawarij for the TTP and affiliated groups.
The recent escalation began with a spate of militant attacks inside Pakistan, including a suicide bombing and gunbattle at the old Police Lines in Kohat on 18 September that killed more than 20 people, most of them police, and an ambush in Hangu on 20 September that killed six security personnel. Pakistan followed with airstrikes in Afghanistan’s Kunar and Paktika provinces on 21 September, the downing of eight drones on 23 September and the strikes at 10 drone-related locations on 24 September.
What the clash signals
The Gulistan sector lies in Balochistan, where Pakistani forces have separately reported running counter-terrorism operations against what they describe as Indian-sponsored militants. The overnight ground clash shows the conflict extending along the length of the 2,600-kilometre Durand Line rather than remaining concentrated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where most of the recent drone and ground incidents were reported. It also shows the intensity of exchanges, with Pakistani officials saying Afghan forces shelled Pakistani border villages and that troops destroyed Afghan Army border posts in response — a scale of retaliation consistent with the “firm and resolute response” the information minister threatened.
For Kabul, the strikes on 24 September were described by the Afghan government as killing civilians, and they hit provinces including Kandahar, home to the Taliban’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada — a message analysts told AFP was aimed at the Afghan leadership. Mediation efforts by China, Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which brokered the October ceasefire and a later Eid ceasefire, have so far failed to produce a lasting settlement.
What is still uncertain
All of the details of the Gulistan incident come from Pakistani security sources relayed through state media and Pakistani news organisations; the account could not be independently verified, and the Afghan Taliban authorities had not publicly responded to the specific clash when this snapshot was prepared. The number of Afghan Taliban fighters killed was given only as “several”, without a precise figure, and the extent of damage to Afghan border posts was described by officials rather than independently confirmed. The two governments have repeatedly presented incompatible versions of border incidents, with Kabul denying Pakistani allegations of aggression from its side.
The trajectory of the conflict also remains open. Both sides have claimed recent strikes, disputed casualties and continued to exchange fire along the frontier; whether the overnight clash marks a further escalation or a contained skirmish will only become clear in the coming days. This is a dated snapshot: a formal statement from Pakistan’s military or a response from Kabul may change the picture.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published material, not eyewitness reporting. Sources were reviewed on 25 September 2026. The account of the Gulistan clash rests on Pakistani security sources relayed through the state news agency APP and reported by The News International, Geo News and Dawn; the account of the destroyed Afghan border posts draws on Dawn's officials' reporting; the account of the preceding strikes and drone downings draws on those outlets and KhabarWire's own dated coverage of 23-24 September.
- APP — Security Forces foil Afghan aggression attempt in Gulistan sector, kill several Taliban24 September 2026 · The state news agency's account that Afghan Taliban fighters attempted to enter Pakistani territory in the Gulistan sector, that security forces responded and killed several, and that intermittent firing continued with troops on high alert.
- The News International — Pakistan forces kill several Afghan Taliban fighters after border attack attempt25 September 2026 · Independent confirmation of the Gulistan clash, Tarar's statement that Pakistan does not seek escalation but will respond firmly to provocations, the eight drones shot down on 23 September, and the Operation Ghazab lil-Haq background.
- Geo News — Multiple Afghan Taliban killed as Pakistan forces foil border attack: sources24 September 2026 · Independent confirmation of the attempted incursion in the Gulistan border sector, the swift response and casualties inflicted, the continuing firing, and Tarar's quoted remarks.
- Dawn — Security forces kill several Afghan Taliban fighters in retaliatory action along Balochistan border: sources24 September 2026 · Independent confirmation that Pakistani troops responded to an act of aggression along the Balochistan border and killed several Afghan Taliban, that firing continued after midnight, and the context of the 10-location strikes, the drone downings and earlier incidents in Kurram and Qila Abdullah.
- Dawn — Pakistan hits more terror targets in Afghanistan25 September 2026 · The officials' account that Pakistani troops destroyed several Afghan Army border posts after Afghan Taliban forces shelled Pakistani border villages on Thursday night, and the state-media description of the Gulistan clash as an act of aggression.
