Pakistan has launched an “open war” on Afghanistan’s Taliban government after the military conflict between the two nations escalated overnight.
“Our patience has reached its limit. Now it is open war between us and you,” Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif said on X.
Pakistani forces carried out airstrikes in Afghan capital Kabul and two other provinces in the early hours today, in what it said was a retaliation to Taliban’s cross-border attacks on late-Thursday night. The Taliban had warned it was going to respond militarily to Pakistani airstrikes on Sunday that killed 13 civilians, leaving the conflict open to escalation.
Witnesses on the ground in Afghanistan confirmed fighter jets overhead and explosions in parts of Kabul. Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said no casualties were reported so far. Pakistan also carried out airstrikes in Kandahar to the south and in the southeastern province of Paktia, Mujahid said.
This is the latest escalation of violence between the neighbouring countries that made a Qatar-mediated ceasefire appear increasingly shaky.
Two senior Pakistani security officials said its military carried out airstrikes targeting what they described as Afghan military facilities in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia provinces, allegedly destroying two brigade bases.
Pakistani PM Khwaja Asif declares ‘open war’ against Taliban in Afghanistan
Pakistan’s defence minister Khwaja Asif has said the country is now launching an open war against Afghanistan and accused the neighbour of harbouring terrorists.
“They gathered all the terrorists of the world in Afghanistan and began exporting terrorism. They deprived their own people of basic human rights. They snatched away the rights that Islam grants to women,” Asif said, accusing Afghanistan as a proxy of India, without providing details.
“Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you,” he said.
Arpan Rai27 February 2026 03:03
Pakistan strikes targets inside Afghanistan cities
Pakistan’s forces have struck targets inside Afghanistan’s major cities overnight, Pakistani and Taliban officials said on Friday, as cross-border fighting intensified following months of tensions escalated once again.
Security sources in Pakistan said the strikes involved air and ground strikes against Taliban posts, headquarters and ammunition depots in multiple sectors along the border.
Both sides reported heavy losses, issuing sharply differing figures that The Independent has not verified.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani forces carried out airstrikes in parts of Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia.
“Pakistani counterstrikes against targets in Afghanistan continue,” a Pakistani government spokesperson, Mosharraf Zaidi, said in a post on X, describing the action as a response to “unprovoked Afghan attacks”.
Arpan Rai27 February 2026 03:00
