Claim: A video shows Afghanistan’s attack on Pakistani military along the Durand Line amid the ongoing conflict.
Fact: The claim is false. The viral clip appeared online as early as September 2021.
On 26 February, X user @AFGDefense shared a video, writing, “🚨 BIG BREAKING NEWS💥
Extensive offensive operations are underway against Pakistani military centers and installations along the Durand Line.”
The video was subsequently shared online with similar claims.
On 27 February, a Facebook user shared the video with the following caption: “افغان بارڈر پر ایک بار پھر خوفناک جنگ چھڑ گیا”
[Translation: A terrible war has broken out once again on the Afghan border.]
Conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan
On 27 February, Pakistan launched air and ground strikes on Taliban‑held territory, including major cities such as Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia in response to attacks on its military posts along the disputed Durand Line and militant violence linked to groups like the Tehreek‑e‑Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Pakistan’s Defence Minister declared that Islamabad’s “patience has run out” and described the developments as an “open war” with Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities after repeated clashes and alleged aggression from Afghan forces.
Afghan officials condemned the strikes as violations of sovereignty and reported their own retaliatory actions against Pakistani forces. The clashes follow a fragile ceasefire agreed upon in late 2025 reflecting longstanding disputes over border security, militant sanctuaries, and mutual mistrust between the neighbouring countries.
“The UN secretary-general, António Guterres, urged both sides to protect civilians as required under international law and ‘to continue to seek to resolve any differences through diplomacy,’ UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said,” reported The Guardian.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their differences through dialogue and good neighbourly principles. “In the blessed month of Ramadan, the month of self-restraint and strengthening solidarity in the world of Islam, it is fitting that Afghanistan and Pakistan manage and resolve their existing differences within the framework of good neighborliness and through the path of dialogue,” Araghchi wrote in an X post.
“Russia has urged the warring parties to halt cross-border attacks immediately and resolve their differences through diplomatic means, the RIA news agency reported on Friday, citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Russia has also offered to mediate,” reported Al Jazeera.
According to Anadolu Agency, “UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said London was ‘deeply concerned by the significant escalation in tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan.’ ”
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched keyframes from the viral clip to trace its origin. While we were unable to locate the original source of the video, we found that a still from the clip appeared online as early as 6 September 2021 in an article published by Indonesian news outlet Viva Digital, titled “Horrifying Taliban Attack, Lion Valley War General Dies”.
Side-by-side comparison of Viva Digital cover image with the viral clip
The article reported on a Taliban assault in the Panjshir Valley on the main base of the Afghan National Resistance Forces (NRF), also known as the Northern Alliance. It claimed that, with alleged drone support from the Pakistani military, Taliban forces indiscriminately bombarded the region and launched an offensive reportedly strong enough to devastate NRF forces.
Although we were unable to trace the clip to other verified sources covering the Panjshir attack, the appearance of the still in the 2021 article suggests that the footage likely originates from that period if not from the same incident.
Soch Fact Check also found the same video shared on X, on 23 October 2023, with the caption: “Stop battle in Parachinar #Parachinar #Sialkot #Jang to start ho Gaya.”
The video resurfaced again on X on 29 December 2024 with the caption: “The Afghanistan and Pakistan border. How will this end….”
That post included a note stating: “Misinformation! This is an old video from September 2021. It shows a firefight between the Taliban and Afghan National Resistance Forces (NRF) in the Panjshir Valley.” It also included a link to the Viva Digital article.
A Pakistan Today article published on 12 October 2025, titled: “Pakistan Army thwarts ‘attempted infiltration,’ responds strongly to unprovoked Afghan firing” also contained a still from the viral clip.
While Soch Fact Check was unable to confirm the exact origins of the footage, its online presence as early as 2021, and its subsequent circulation with different claims in 2023, 2024, and 2025 confirms that the clip predates the recent escalation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Virality
The viral clip was shared here, here, here, here, here, and here on Facebook. Archived here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On X, it was shared here, here, here, and here. Archived here, here, here, and here.
On Instagram, it was shared here (archive).
Conclusion: The viral clip is not from the ongoing conflict between the two countries. It surfaced online as far back as 2021 and has since circulated with different claims.
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Background image in cover photo:
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