Islamabad/Kabul – According to reports from Kabul, pro-Afghan Taliban sources have claimed that Afghanistan’s defense forces have successfully tested a missile capable of striking targets up to 400 kilometers away. The claim, widely circulated on Afghan social media platforms, was accompanied by a video purportedly showing the launch.
However, international defense experts and open-source intelligence (OSINT) analysts have dismissed the footage as fake, identifying it as recycled footage from North Korea’s February 24, 2023, strategic cruise missile launches.
According to North Korean state media, the 2023 launches were part of a military exercise demonstrating Pyongyang’s nuclear response capability, coinciding with US–South Korea joint drills in Washington, D.C. Analysts say the same footage has now been repurposed and falsely presented as an Afghan missile test.
No official Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), a standard alert issued before missile launches to secure airspace, was released by Afghan authorities. Regional radar, satellite, and monitoring systems have likewise detected no missile activity or thermal signatures from Afghan territory.
Security experts maintain that the Taliban regime in Afghanistan lacks the technological capacity, infrastructure, and expertise to develop or launch long-range missiles. Afghanistan’s current military capability under the Taliban regime, they note, remains limited to conventional weapons and irregular militant forces.
Pakistani defense officials warned that such unverified claims could escalate regional tensions. “Pakistan seeks peace and stability in the region, but circulating fabricated content to project military strength is both reckless and irresponsible,” one official told HTN.
Observers note that this episode mirrors the May 2025 India-Pakistan conflict, during which Indian media and social platforms circulated exaggerated claims, including reports of capturing Pakistani territory and testing an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile ( ICBM) of 15,000-kilometer, all later debunked by independent verification.
Experts describe the Taliban’s latest claim as “digital bravado”, a propaganda attempt to inflate military credibility through misinformation. They caution that while easily disproven, such narratives risk undermining regional stability and exposing the Taliban regime’s growing reliance on information warfare over real defense capability.
