Viral videos: How Afghan fighters effortlessly capture Pakistani Army post, tanks amid border clashes

Videos allegedly showing Taliban fighters transporting a captured Pakistani military tank and capturing Pakistani Army post following recent cross-border clashes have gone viral on social media.

The tank footage emerged just hours after renewed fighting broke out between Pakistani security forces and Taliban fighters along the Durand Line in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The video, posted on X (formerly Twitter) by the account ‘Afghanistan under Taliban rule,’ shows a man driving a jeep and filming tanks bearing Pakistani flags. Armed fighters, believed to be members of the Taliban, are seen mounted on the tanks, carrying Taliban flags. The narrator in the video can be heard in a local language saying, “They return from war, bringing a Pakistani tank with them, all dusty and tired. God willing, they return to Kandahar.”

The post accompanying the video claimed: “#Afghan forces, after a battle at the border, brought a captured #Pakistani tank to their base.”

The Tribune has, however, not independently verified the authenticity of the video or the claims made.

The Pakistan-Taliban conflict intensified on the night of October 15, when a fresh wave of fighting erupted between the two sides in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region. This followed Pakistan’s airstrikes on October 7, which targeted alleged Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants inside Afghan territory. The strikes reportedly hit civilian areas in Afghanistan’s Khost and Paktika provinces, drawing a strong military response from the Taliban.

Pakistan’s state media has accused Afghan forces of initiating the latest round of violence without provocation, claiming Pakistani troops retaliated and damaged multiple Afghan military assets. In contrast, the Taliban-led Afghan government insists its actions are in response to repeated violations of its airspace and sovereignty.