Afghanistan says 28 fighters killed after crossing from Pakistan; Islamabad denies ties

Afghanistan’s defense ministry said on Sunday its forces had killed 28 fighters and wounded 32 in the eastern province of Nuristan after a group it said included ISIS militants crossed from Pakistan.

The ministry alleged Pakistani militias had supported the fighters and that most of them were former Afghan government security personnel.

Pakistan’s information ministry rejected the allegations, describing them in a post on X as “frivolous, baseless and devoid of any truth.”

In the same post, it denied that its security forces or intelligence agencies were involved in clashes in Nuristan, had recruited or trained former Afghan security personnel, or had facilitated ISIS or other militant groups in Afghanistan.

Kabul’s claim that Pakistani intelligence trained and sent former Afghan security personnel across the border is a direct allegation of state involvement in an armed incursion. It comes less than a week after Pakistan launched airstrikes inside Afghanistan, saying it had targeted militants.

Reuters could not independently verify the ministry’s account or its casualty figures.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of sheltering fighters who attack its territory, a charge Kabul denies.

Afghanistan’s defense ministry said the group crossed into Kamdesh, a district of Nuristan near the Pakistani border, on Saturday with the intention of carrying out attacks. Afghan forces launched an operation and the surviving fighters fled back across the border towards Pakistani militia positions, it said.

It alleged that Pakistani armed personnel and militia members had coordinated with the fighters but withdrew when fighting began. The ministry also accused Pakistani intelligence of taking former Afghan security personnel to Pakistan under the pretext of offering them assistance, training them and sending them towards Nuristan.

Pakistan’s information ministry said Afghanistan had produced no evidence of Pakistani involvement. It disputed a video circulating on social media that it said was being used to support the allegations, describing the footage as staged.

Reuters could not independently verify the video.

The incident follows Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan on Sept. 21 that Islamabad said killed 28 militants. Afghan officials said civilians were killed, and the UN mission in Afghanistan confirmed three civilian deaths.