Airstrikes targeting Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia Province have pushed the escalating Pakistan–Taliban conflict into dangerous and uncharted territory, following Pakistan’s declaration of what officials described as an “open war” against the Taliban-led administration in Afghanistan.
The early Friday airstrikes were carried out by Pakistan and targeted installations described as Taliban military positions. The assault represents one of the most serious military confrontations between the two neighbours in recent years.
The attacks came hours after Afghan forces launched coordinated cross-border operations against Pakistani military positions across six border provinces late Thursday. Authorities in Kabul claimed the operations killed 55 Pakistani soldiers and captured 19 military outposts, though these figures have not been independently verified.
Pakistan acknowledged the deaths of two of its soldiers but dismissed the remaining casualty claims as propaganda. Pakistani officials said their forces retaliated by eliminating at least 133 Afghan fighters and destroying 27 Afghan outposts, assertions that could not be confirmed by independent sources.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, said the country’s restraint had reached its limit. “Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you,” he stated in a social media post. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also warned that Pakistan would show “no leniency” in defending its territorial integrity.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the strikes on Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia but denied reports of casualties, insisting that retaliatory operations had been launched from Kandahar Province and Helmand Province.
The latest exchanges have effectively collapsed a fragile ceasefire previously brokered by Turkey and Qatar.
The truce, reached after 10 days of deadly border clashes in October that claimed more than 70 lives on both sides, was followed by unsuccessful peace negotiations held in Doha and Istanbul.
Diplomatic observers have warned that the renewed fighting could further destabilize the already fragile security situation along the long and volatile border separating the two nations.
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