Afghanistan Reports 28 Fighters Killed in Nuristan as Pakistan Denies Involvement

Afghanistan's defence ministry announced on Sunday that its forces killed 28 fighters and wounded 32 others in the eastern province of Nuristan. According to the ministry, the group included Islamic State militants who had travelled from Pakistan, and most of the fighters were former Afghan government security personnel. The ministry further alleged that Pakistani militias supported the group. Pakistan's information ministry rejected these claims in a social media post, calling them "frivolous, baseless and devoid of any truth." The ministry denied that Pakistan's security forces or intelligence agencies were involved in the Nuristan clashes, that they had recruited or trained former Afghan security personnel, or that they had facilitated Islamic State or other militant groups in Afghanistan. The exchange marks a sharp escalation in public accusations between the two neighbours over cross-border militancy.