‘We do not care if they’ve nukes’: Taliban sends battalions to frame with Pakistan amid fears of all-out conflict as two nations commerce lethal strikes in mounting battle

Fears of an all-out war erupting between Afghanistan and Pakistan are rising after the Taliban sent troops to the border as the two countries continue to trade deadly strikes.

The Afghan Taliban has unleashed a series of devastating artillery strikes on Pakistani military checkpoints along the tense border, sparking fears of a full-blown conflict between the two neighbours.

The hardline Islamist group boasted it had obliterated ‘several’ Pakistani positions and mobilised battalions of fighters to confront any retaliation from Islamabad, in a chilling show of force.

The attacks come in response to Pakistani airstrikes targeting the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an ally of the Afghan Taliban, in eastern Afghanistan. 

Local Afghan officials claimed the strikes killed 46 civilians, including women and children, further inflaming tensions.

In response, the Afghan government promised ‘retaliation’ on Saturday, with Afghan Taliban forces claiming to have targeted ‘several points’ near the Durand Line, the contested border between the two nations.

In a chilling statement to The Telegraph, Taliban officials declared they were prepared for the conflict with Pakistan to escalate further, raising fears that the region is edging closer to war. 

‘We don’t care if they have a nuclear bomb – we have faith and know that God is with us,’ a senior Taliban official said.

The Taliban has vowed to stand firm against any retaliatory strike from Pakistan, with Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defence on high alert and additional forces poised to reinforce the volatile border.    

The Taliban foreign minister warned Pakistan over the weekend, urging Pakistani authorities not to ‘underestimate our capabilities’.

‘We will not forget Pakistan’s benevolence during the time of jihad, but we will not forget Pakistan’s aggression on Afghan soil today,’ Amir Khan Muttaqi said.

‘I have a message for Pakistani authorities: don’t think we are weak and don’t attack us,’ he added. ‘We are having difficulties but are very brave.’

But in a dramatic twist, Islamabad finds itself at odds with the very group it once supported. 

Pakistan had covertly backed the Afghan Taliban during the US-led war in Afghanistan, hoping to secure influence in the region. 

Yet, the fallout from the Taliban’s return to power has seen Pakistan’s long-running battle with the TTP intensify.

The TTP, emboldened by weapons reportedly funneled to them by the Afghan Taliban – many seized from retreating US forces—has launched a surge of deadly attacks on Pakistani soil since the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in 2021.

Pakistan’s military leaders had bet on their former allies helping to suppress the TTP, but instead, they now face a ferocious double threat.   

‘The Mujahideen successfully attacked and destroyed several enemy positions and caused significant damage,’ a senior Taliban defence ministry official said, referring to the strikes over the weekend.

‘Several areas were targeted with artillery, and we have destroyed many of their checkpoints and equipment. They should know they cannot violate our sovereignty.’

‘Several battalions have been dispatched to the border, and we are prepared for anything – we didn’t kick NATO out only to be intimidated or humiliated by Punjabis,’ he said.

Pakistan has accused Kabul of allowing militants to cross the border unchecked, a charge fiercely denied by the Afghan Taliban, who insist they have not permitted any attacks to be launched from their territory.

The escalating crisis has prompted international alarm, with Russia stepping in on Sunday to urge both sides to exercise restraint. 

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow was ‘deeply concerned’ by the situation and called for ‘constructive dialogue’ to defuse tensions.

But signs of further conflict loom large. 

A Taliban interior ministry official revealed to the newspaper that Kabul was evaluating its next moves in case of more Pakistani attacks. 

Meanwhile, Taliban-linked social media accounts have been sharing videos of troop movements near the border, in an apparent show of strength.

One striking clip shows Soviet-era tanks, relics of the USSR’s failed invasion of Afghanistan, being transported towards the front lines. 

Another video features NATO military vehicles, abandoned during the US withdrawal, now reportedly on the move to reinforce Taliban forces.

In a defiant official statement, the Taliban claimed responsibility for striking ‘several points serving as centres and hideouts for malicious elements and their supporters’ across the border in Pakistan. 

The group’s use of the term ‘hypothetical line’ referred to the long-disputed frontier, dismissing Pakistan’s territorial claims.

The situation remains volatile, with both sides bracing for further escalation in a dangerous clash of wills that threatens to destabilise the region.

The terror group has historically maintained strong relations with Pakistan and analysts believe that without the country’s support, the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan would have been unlikely.

But the relationship between the two neighbours has deteriorated over the past three years, with numerous cross-border clashes erupting.