Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif declared Friday that a state of “open war” exists between Pakistan and the neighboring nation of Afghanistan, following ever-growing tensions and cross-border raids. Pakistan has reportedly pounded major cities in Afghanistan in the escalation of the conflict.
The attacks reportedly centered on major military centers of the Taliban government in Afghanistan, and included significant attacks on the capital city of Kabul, causing explosions that fueled panic in the city and reportedly a soaring death toll.
Pakistani military statements claimed at least 274 Afghan fighters had been killed in the strikes, and over 400 others were wounded. If confirmed, this is one of the single largest incidents of attacks on war-torn Afghanistan in decades. Pakistani officials also suggested that some 228 Taliban fighters had been killed in Kabul alone, while also confirming attacks on Paktia Province and the city of Kandahar.
Overnight explosions from Pakistani strikes on Kabul | Image from X
Fighting and exchanges of fire have been reported in the area around the Torkham Border Crossing, which lies along a highway that connects the Pakistani capital of Islamabad and the city of Peshawar to the Afghan city of Jalalabad and the capital of Kabul.
Taliban statements reported the mobilization of a “battalion” of suicide bombers to fight Pakistan, and claimed to have launched attacks in Nangarhar leading to the death of some 55 Pakistani soldiers and the capture of 19 Pakistani military posts. Pakistan confirmed the Nangarhar fighting but denied the outcome, insisting they had sustained no casualties at all.
Pakistan and the Taliban have been facing growing tensions in recent months, with long-standing disputes about the actual border between the two nations escalating amid allegations by Pakistan that the Taliban have been hosting Pakistani Islamist factions like the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
In addition to tensions over the status of the TTP, Pakistani officials have accused the Taliban of serving as a proxy for regional rival India. India, for its part, issued a statement condemning the Pakistani attacks on Afghanistan.
The international community is calling for the two sides to settle their differences peacefully, with both Russia and China offering to mediate. Iran has similarly suggested they would be willing to provide whatever assistance possible to facilitate the talks.
