Taliban troops and border police ready to 'bravely respond' to any enemy of Afghanistan

Описание: (27 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY: NO ACCESS AFGHANISTAN INTERNATIONAL

ASSOCIATED PRESS - NO ACCESS AFGHANISTAN INTERNATIONAL
Ghulam Khan, Khost province, Afghanistan - 27 February 2026
1. Taliban military vehicle moving in the border area
2. Wide of Taliban post
3. Taliban fighters standing on rooftop of post
4. Taliban military vehicle coming out of base and leaving
5. Various of Taliban fighters sitting on anti-aircraft gun fixed on a vehicle
6. SOUNDBITE (Pashto) Abdul Jalal Mestre, military official with Khost border police:
“We are ready, even at the cost of our lives, to bravely respond to the enemy who has always caused us harm, because they do not resolve matters with us in a proper way. We have no ill intentions toward anyone. But if someone treats us badly, looks down on our country, or harms our religion, we will firmly stand against them, God willing.”
7. Taliban military vehicle leaving toward border area
8. Taliban fighter standing ready at his post, looking out over the surrounding area
9. Wide of Taliban post at the top of the mountain
10. Taliban fighter at his post
STORYLINE:
An Afghan military official said Friday that Taliban troops and border police are ready to "bravely respond to the enemy" and accused Pakistan of refusing to resolve the fighting in a "proper way."

"If someone treats us badly, looks down on our country, or harms our religion, we will firmly stand against them," Abdul Jalal Mestre said in the border town of Ghulam Khan in Khost province.

It comes after Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged cross-border attacks overnight in an escalation of tensions between the two neighbors.

Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan late Thursday, saying it was in retaliation for deadly Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan border areas Sunday.

Pakistan then carried out airstrikes in Kabul and two other Afghan provinces early Friday, saying it targeted military installations.

Tensions have been high for months, with border clashes in October killing dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of harboring militant groups that then stage attacks across the border and also of allying with its archrival India.

A Qatari-mediated ceasefire ended the fighting, although the two sides still occasionally trade fire.

Several rounds of peace talks in Istanbul in November failed to produce a lasting agreement.

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