Video: Tanks Race On Afghan Streets. Taliban Says It Captured Them From Pakistan Forces

Hours before Islamabad and Kabul agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire, videos went viral on social media showing tanks racing through the streets of Afghanistan's southeastern Spin Boldak province. The videos claimed that Taliban forces in Afghanistan had captured the said tanks from the Pakistani military during border confrontations on Wednesday. 

In a statement shared on X, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid also claimed that Afghan forces returned Pakistani fire in border areas, killing "a large number" of Pakistani soldiers, seizing "Pakistani weapons and tanks" and destroying Pakistani military installations.

#Watch | Hours before Islamabad and Kabul agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire, videos went viral on social media showing military tankers racing through the streets of Afghanistan's southeastern Spin Boldak province. The videos claimed that Taliban forces in Afghanistan had captured… pic.twitter.com/pJLuFXLIz2

— NDTV WORLD (@NDTVWORLD) October 16, 2025

Pakistan has, however, denied the Taliban's claim, saying the model of the tanks seen in the videos was not part of its inventory.

Pak Army just lost its tanks — to #AfghanTaliban.#Taliban seized a cache of light & heavy weapons, incl tanks, & moved them across Spin Boldak border.

A massive humiliation. The myth of #Pakistan's 'military might' is falling apart — one tank at a time.#AfghanistanAndPakistan pic.twitter.com/p2GZAISk6T

— Ashok Kumar Bhat (@AshokBhat_KP) October 16, 2025

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, during an interview with Geo News, said, "They are showing videos claiming they have captured a Pakistani tank; we do not have those tanks in our inventory. They probably bought it from some junk dealer."

NDTV, however, could not verify the authenticity of the video of the claim. A quick AI search, however, showed that the vehicle in the video was a Soviet-era T-55 tank, which has been in Afghanistan's inventory since the 1980s. 

Afghanistan-Pakistan Border Clashes

A ceasefire along the frontier between Afghanistan and Pakistan was holding on Thursday, after dozens of troops and civilians were killed in cross-border clashes over the weekend. The 48-hour ceasefire was aimed at allowing time to "find a positive solution... through constructive dialogue", according to Islamabad.

In Spin Boldak, a focal point of recent clashes on the Afghan side, residents returned to homes they had fled during the fighting, according to a report by news agency AFP.  

The situation deteriorated between the two neighbours as Pakistan faced a resurgence of attacks against its security forces on its western border with Afghanistan, led by the Pakistani Taliban and its affiliates. 

Islamabad accused Kabul of offering a haven to terrorists who plan their frequent assaults from Afghan soil -- a charge the Taliban government denies. 

Cross-border attacks started after the Afghan capital was targeted in air strikes last week, an attack that Kabul blamed on Islamabad. Key border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan were closed following fierce clashes. Afghanistan officials said their forces killed 58 Pakistani soldiers in overnight border operations, a figure Pakistan put at 23. Pakistan said its security forces captured 19 Afghan border posts, Al Jazeera reported.