Kabul, Kandahar hit as Pakistan declares 'open war' against Afghanistan

Pakistani officials said they carried out retaliatory strikes under 'Operation Ghazab lil Haq' on Kabul, Paktia and Kandahar in the early hours of Friday

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif on Friday said that the country has run out of patience and is now in an “open war” with Afghanistan. The remarks came after both sides exchanged strikes following an alleged cross-border attack by Afghanistan.

 

In a post on X, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that following the withdrawal of Nato forces, Pakistan was expecting peace in Afghanistan, with the Taliban focusing on the development of the Afghan people and regional stability.

 

“But the Taliban made Afghanistan a colony of India. They gathered terrorists from all over the world in Afghanistan and started exporting terrorism,” he said.

 

What led to the latest Pakistan-Afghanistan clashes?

Pakistani officials said they carried out strikes under ‘Operation Ghazab lil Haq’ on Kabul, Paktia and Kandahar in the early hours of Friday, the BBC reported. They described the action as a response to “unprovoked Afghan attacks”. The Afghan Taliban, however, blamed Pakistan, saying the strikes followed earlier action by Islamabad.

 

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said at least 133 Afghan Taliban operatives were killed and more than 200 were injured. “Afghan Taliban defence targets in Kabul, Paktia, and Kandahar were targeted, with the possibility of further casualties,” he said, adding that 27 Taliban posts were destroyed and nine captured, according to Pakistani newspaper Dawn. 

 

He added that two corps headquarters, three brigade headquarters, two ammunition depots, a logistics base, three battalion headquarters, two sector headquarters, and more than 80 tanks, artillery guns and armoured personnel vehicles were destroyed in Afghanistan.

 

The Pakistani authorities earlier also said that two of its soldiers had been killed after the Afghan Taliban launched an operation against military positions along their shared border late on Thursday.

 

Clashes were also reported near the Torkham border crossing along the 2,611-kilometre Durand Line, which Afghanistan does not formally recognise. Afghan authorities said a missile strike wounded 13 civilians in a refugee camp, including women and children, prompting evacuations, reported the Associated Press. On the Pakistani side, residents moved to safer areas after mortars landed in nearby villages, though no civilian casualties were reported. 

 

How have leaders in Pakistan responded to the escalation?

On the Pakistani strikes, President Asif Ali Zardari said the armed forces’ response was “comprehensive and decisive”. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif added: “There will be no compromise on the defence of the beloved homeland and every aggression will be met with a befitting reply”.

 

The latest escalation comes after months of strained ties and recurring clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. One such border clash in October 2025 killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants. According to Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the hostilities left 23 Pakistani soldiers dead and more than 200 Taliban and affiliated militants killed.

 

The confrontation was followed by diplomatic efforts that led to a ceasefire between the two countries, brokered with the support of regional actors including Qatar, Turkiye and Saudi Arabia. The military action comes despite the ceasefire.