Pakistani forces claim to have repelled threats and protected the homeland following engagements near the Afghan border, according to a statement from @Pakarmyc on October 12th, 2025, within the reporting window ending at 8:37 PM UTC. The statement described Pakistani troops as "Pashtun Warriors" who "roasted Afghan khawarij" with "courage, discipline, and precision." This comes amidst unverified claims circulating on social media suggesting air strikes on Lahore, with one user posing a complex geopolitical puzzle involving India, the Taliban, Tajikistan, and Saudi Arabia to identify the perpetrator. Earlier in the reporting window, between 7:38 PM and 8:07 PM UTC, Pakistani troops repelled an attempted cross-border raid by approximately 15-16 Afghan Taliban fighters from Turkmanzai Top toward Paloseen village opposite Kurram. Pakistani forces reportedly opened fire with machine guns and RPGs, forcing the militants to flee back toward an Afghan ridge where they were subsequently targeted with mortar fire, as reported by @tequieremos. This incident occurred during a reporting window of approximately 29 minutes. Separately, within the reporting window, Indian politician Asaduddin Owaisi expressed a demand for full diplomatic relations with the Taliban, stating that Afghanistan is a strategic region for India and that India's presence there is essential for developmental work, particularly if the Chabahar port becomes operational, according to @SamriBackup. Meanwhile, a user named Haidar Hashmi (@HaidarHashmi0) posted a message suggesting Pakistan would face further consequences if it did not "correct its ways." These developments follow a period where Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially adopted the term "Taliban regime" when referring to the Afghan government, signaling a potential recalibration of Pakistan's approach to Afghanistan. This policy shift was detailed in a statement that also mentioned terrorist factions alongside the Afghan Taliban, according to reporting from @ZiaHata. Previous reports also indicated that Pakistan is engaged in Phase II of "Operation Khyber Storm," aimed at eliminating the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) within Afghanistan. The Pakistani military had also reported consolidating control over a strategically important hill approximately 2 km inside Afghanistan's Paktika province earlier on October 12th, 2025.
