Islamabad launches deadly air strikes on Afghan capital and Taliban strongholds after border clashes spiral out of control…
Pakistan carried out air strikes on Afghanistan’s capital Kabul and other major cities early Friday, with its defence minister openly declaring “open war” on the Taliban government amid a dangerous escalation of months-long border tensions.
AFP journalists in Kabul and Kandahar reported hearing multiple blasts and Pakistani jets overhead until dawn. The strikes targeted “Afghan Taliban defence targets” in Kabul, Paktia province and Kandahar, according to Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif left no room for ambiguity in a post on X, “Our patience has reached its limit. Now it is open war between you and us.”
The overnight operation came hours after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops on Thursday night, the latest in a cycle of tit-for-tat violence that has seen relations between the two neighbours collapse. Land border crossings have been largely shut since deadly fighting in October that killed more than 70 soldiers on both sides.
Truth Live News learnt that Pakistan accuses the Taliban government of sheltering militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the group behind a surge in attacks inside Pakistan since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021. The Taliban denies the charge.
South Asia expert Michael Kugelman described the strikes as “a significant and dangerous escalation,” noting that Pakistan now appears to be targeting the Taliban regime itself, not just TTP hideouts.
Both sides reported heavy casualties in the latest border clashes, though the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed the Pakistani air strikes caused “no casualties.” Mujahid said Afghan forces had launched “large-scale offensive operations” at the border in response.
An Afghan official reported seven refugees wounded one woman seriously when a mortar shell hit a camp near the Torkham border crossing.
The escalation has triggered frantic diplomatic activity. Saudi Arabia mediated the recent release of three Pakistani soldiers captured in October, and Iran on Friday offered to “facilitate dialogue” to end the fighting.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif insisted his armed forces “have the full capability to crush any aggressive ambitions.”
Streets in Kabul remained quiet after sunrise on the Muslim holy day during Ramadan, with no visible increase in security presence, AFP reporters observed.
The fresh violence follows repeated failed attempts at peace, including ceasefires brokered by Qatar and Turkey, and comes against a backdrop of deadly suicide attacks claimed by both TTP and Islamic State affiliates on both sides of the border.
With Islamabad now openly at war with its western neighbour and the Taliban vowing retaliation, the region faces its most serious security crisis since the fall of Kabul in 2021.
