UPDATE - Islamabad says 12 Pakistani soldiers dead in clashes with Afghanistan

UPDATES WITH REMARKS FROM INFORMATION MINISTER, STATEMENT FROM FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan on Friday said its 12 soldiers were killed and another 27 others injured in the border clashes with Afghan forces.

Addressing a news conference, the army spokesman, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said that one soldier was missing.

He claimed that some 274 "Afghan Taliban regime operatives and terrorists" were killed and around 400 others injured in clashes and "coordinated" air strikes by Pakistan Air Force in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia provinces, which "made sure no civilians were targeted."

The airstrikes, he added, targeted corps, battalion, and sector headquarters, as well as ammunition and logistic bases of the Afghan forces.

Chaudhry said that the Afghan side opened fire and physical raids in 15 sectors at 53 places along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, claiming: "73 Afghan posts along the border were destroyed, while 18 posts were captured."

He added that some 115 Afghan forces' tanks and vehicles were also destroyed.

Pakistan "acted in self-defense," Chaudhry stressed.

Addressing the Afghan government, he asked Kabul to make a "clear choice" between the Pakistani state and terrorist organizations.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar accused the Afghan government of providing "safe havens, training, and facilitation to terrorists who cross into Pakistan to murder innocent civilians and security personnel, citing recent militant attacks across Pakistan.

Dubbing the Afghan government as "illegitimate regime," Tarar told newsmen in Islamabad that recent "unprovoked attacks by Afghanistan were met with an effective response from Pakistan's armed forces, resulting in the neutralization of attackers and the capture of several enemy posts."

In a separate statement, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that Pakistan’s actions were undertaken "in exercise of its right to self-defence and to ensure the safety and security of its citizens, as well as that of the wider region and beyond."

Pakistan, he added, desires peace and stability in the region, warning that any further provocations to undermine the "security and welfare of the people of Pakistan, will be met with a measured, decisive and befitting response."

Kabul has yet to respond to statements from Islamabad.

Earlier, Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said at least eight Afghan soldiers were killed on Thursday in the border clashes, while Kabul also claimed that 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed.

Independent verification of the claims on both sides is challenging due to the ongoing clashes.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have seen fierce clashes since Thursday night.

At least 29 people were killed, including four civilians, 12 Pakistani soldiers, and 13 Afghan troops across the border.

Kabul on Thursday announced it launched border attacks against Pakistan over airstrikes on Sunday by Islamabad inside Afghanistan, which left many dead. Pakistan responded with heavy fire and fresh airstrikes in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia provinces early Friday.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has imposed an immediate nationwide ban on all drone operations, citing a heightened security environment and ongoing counter-terror operations, according to Pakistani private broadcaster Dunya News.