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FACT CHECK: Afghan Taliban’s claim of capturing a Pakistani tank is false
Several social media accounts, particularly those based in Afghanistan and India, shared a video of men driving a tank that was allegedly seized by the Afghan forces during a border clash with Pakistan.
The video circulated after recent border skirmishes between Pakistan and Afghan forces that has resulted in casualties on both sides. Both sides have agreed on a brief ceasefire after the recent round of firing along the border.
Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabeehullah Mujahid shared a post claiming that Afghan forces seized a tank used by the Pakistan Army during the Chaman-Spin Boldak border clash.
In a post on X, Mujanid shared a video of men driving a tank through a town, and another video claiming an attack on the border entrance gate.
A translation of the post caption says, “Pakistani forces once again launched attacks on Afghanistan with light and heavy weapons in the Spin Baldak district of Kandahar, as a result of which more than 12 civilians were martyred and more than 100 were injured.
“In the retaliatory action, several Pakistani aggressor soldiers were killed, their posts and centers were captured, weapons and tanks fell into the hands of the Afghan forces, and most of their military installations were destroyed.”
Indian journalist, Sidhant Sibal, also shared the video, captioned, “Afghanistan’s Islamic Emirate govt releases vdos (sic) of tanks movement at the border. Says Pakistan military assets have been captured.”
The post has been viewed at least 274,000 times and can be viewed here.
Fact Check
The claim has been debunked and the statement by the Afghan Taliban spokesperson is misleading and false. A careful analysis shows the Soviet era tank, possibly a T-55 or its advanced version T-62 driven on a road on the Afghan side of the border.
The T-55 is a Soviet-made main battle tank, a derivative of the T-54B, which was adopted for service in 1956 by the Russian armed forces.
The T-54/55 and the T-62 were the two most common tanks in Soviet inventory. In the initial stage of the war in Afghanistan in 1979–1980, about 800 Soviet tanks were used, consisting of 39 battalions, mainly armed with T-54s and T-55s. Since the beginning of 1980, they began to be replaced by modern T-62 and T-64 tanks.
The T-62 tank was first introduced in 1961. During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the T-62 was a primary tank used by the Soviet army. According to US reports, nearly 325 T-62s fell victim to Mujahideen attacks, especially from anti-tank mines and RPGs. Others fell into the hands of the Afghan Mujahideen after they were left behind by withdrawing Soviet forces. The USSR officially confirmed the loss of 147 T-62 and T-55 tanks during the war.
Source: Zaloga, Steven J. (2009). T-62 Main Battle Tank 1965–2005.
Afghanistan has T-62 and T-55 tanks in use refurbished from the Soviet era. The exact number of tanks by Afghanistan is not mentioned due to the damage after the US led invasion from 2001 to 2019.
A YouTube video titled, ‘The Beasts of Kabul: Inside the Afghan Army’s Soviet Tanks’, by Stars and Stripes, an independent military news outlet, dated July 15, 2014, puts at number at less than 50. The video can be viewed here.
An article in 2023 by Defense Express, a media and consulting company, says the Afghan Army has 20 only 20 T-54/T-62 tanks (+24 in reserve), according to data published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in The Military Balance 2021.
Conclusion
However, the Pakistan Army does not have T-54, T-55 or T-62 tanks in its inventory. These are Soviet era tanks are still used by Afghanistan.
Pakistan has approximately 2,627 to 2,699 combat tanks, according to recent analyses. The tank fleet is a mix of various generations, including Chinese Type 59, 69, 85, VT-4, and Ukrainian T-80UD models, as well as Pakistani-Chinese Al-Khalid and Al-Zarrar tanks.
Fact Check Pakistan concludes that the claim that Afghan Taliban forces captured a military tank of the Pakistan Army is FALSE.
References:
Army Recognition: https://www.armyrecognition.com/military-products/army/main-battle-tanks/main-battle-tanks/t-55-russia-uk
YouTube: The Beasts of Kabul: Inside the Afghan Army’s Soviet Tanks.
War Thunder Wiki: https://wiki.warthunder.com/unit/ussr_t_55a
Defense Express: Taliban Has Tanks, Combat Vehicles and Tactical Missiles, Yet Not Enough to Fight Iran
