Intense cross-border fighting has erupted between Pakistan and Afghanistan, marking a sharp escalation in long-standing tensions between Islamabad and the Taliban-led government in Kabul. Pakistani fighter jets conducted airstrikes on Afghan targets in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia following a major Taliban attack along the Durand Line border on Thursday night.
The violence began when Taliban forces launched a retaliatory offensive against Pakistani military positions late Thursday. The Afghan side claimed to have killed 55 Pakistani soldiers, captured two military bases, and seized 19 military posts during the clashes, which primarily occurred along the disputed Durand Line—a border that Afghanistan has never formally recognized.
In response, Pakistan launched airstrikes early Friday morning, targeting sites in the Afghan capital Kabul, the southern city of Kandahar, and the southeastern province of Paktia. Islamabad released footage of the operations and claimed significant successes. Pakistani authorities stated that 274 Taliban fighters were killed, more than 400 were injured, 73 Afghan military posts were destroyed, 18 others were captured, and 115 Afghan tanks were destroyed. Pakistan reported its own casualties as relatively low, with 12 soldiers killed and 27 injured.
The two sides have issued sharply conflicting accounts of the fighting, with neither version independently verifiable. Observers note a clear disparity in military capabilities: Pakistan possesses advanced fighter jets, while the Taliban lack comparable air power. Reports from Afghanistan indicate hospitals in affected areas are overwhelmed with casualties, suggesting the scale of the Pakistani strikes.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif issued a strong statement amid the escalation, declaring that diplomacy had failed and patience had run out. He stated: “Pakistan made every effort to keep the situation normal through direct means and through friendly countries. It engaged in full-fledged diplomacy. Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you. Now it will be Dama Dam Mast Qalandar.” The reference to “Dama Dam Mast Qalandar,” a Sufi devotional verse, added an unusual cultural element to the declaration.
The root of the conflict lies in Pakistan’s accusations that the Afghan Taliban government is sheltering and supporting the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban. The TTP has intensified attacks inside Pakistan, including a recent bombing of a mosque in Islamabad that killed more than 30 civilians. Pakistani officials have described Kabul as a “master proxy of terrorism” in the region, acting in collusion with the TTP, an internationally designated terrorist organization.
The Afghan Taliban deny these charges, insisting that the TTP is an internal Pakistani issue and rejecting claims of providing safe havens or support. The irony has been highlighted: Pakistan has historically backed the Afghan Taliban since the 1990s and even celebrated their 2021 takeover of Kabul, expecting influence over the new regime. However, the Taliban have since pursued independent policies, including on border sovereignty, leading to friction.
This is not the first such flare-up. Similar airstrikes occurred last October, bringing the sides to the brink of broader conflict before mediators intervened. Pakistan struck alleged TTP targets in Afghanistan earlier this month, prompting the latest cycle.
As fighting appeared to subside by Friday, several countries—including China, Turkey, and Qatar—called for a ceasefire and offered to mediate. China has emphasized its willingness to play a constructive role in de-escalating tensions and improving relations between the neighbors.
The core issues—the disputed Durand Line border and allegations of support for the TTP—remain unresolved, raising concerns that periodic clashes could continue without addressing these underlying causes. Some Pakistani statements have attempted to link the Taliban to India, accusing Kabul of becoming a “colony” for exporting terrorism, though such claims lack substantiation and are widely dismissed as misdirection from Pakistan’s own strategic miscalculations in cultivating militant groups.
The region watches closely, as further escalation could destabilize South Asia amid already strained geopolitics. For now, the fighting has paused, but the risk of renewed violence lingers.
