The Media Line: Defense Minister Says Pakistan Is Engaged in ‘Open War’ With Taliban in Afghanistan

Defense Minister Says Pakistan Is Engaged in ‘Open War’ With Taliban in Afghanistan

By The Media Line Staff

Pakistan carried out air and ground strikes against Taliban government targets in Afghanistan overnight, prompting retaliatory attacks and a declaration of war by Islamabad as clashes spread across the shared border, officials from both countries said Friday.

At least three explosions were heard shortly after midnight in Kabul, according to AFP journalists, who reported that a fighter jet flew over the city shortly before the blasts, and gunfire was also heard. The explosions followed an earlier announcement by the Taliban that it had launched attacks on Pakistani positions along the frontier.

Pakistani officials said the military struck Taliban sites in several Afghan cities. Security sources in Pakistan told Reuters the operation included air-to-ground missile attacks targeting Taliban military offices and posts in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia, along with ground clashes in multiple sectors along the border between the two countries. Reuters reported that Pakistani officials described the action as a response to Taliban attacks.

The Taliban said it had carried out what it described as retaliatory strikes on Pakistani military installations. Both sides reported heavy losses, releasing sharply differing casualty figures that Reuters said it could not independently verify.

Hours after the strikes, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said his country was now in open conflict with the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan. “Our patience has reached its limit,” he wrote on X, adding: “This is now an open war between us.” He later repeated the message, saying: “Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you (Afghanistan).”

Russia weighed in on the escalating violence, urging an immediate halt to the fighting. Moscow’s Foreign Ministry called on both sides to “immediately cease the attacks,” and said, “If the parties request, we will consider mediating between them,” according to the Russian news agency RIA.

Tensions between Kabul and Islamabad have been fueled by Pakistan’s long-standing accusation that Afghanistan harbors militants responsible for cross-border attacks. The Taliban have rejected the claim, saying Pakistan’s security problems are a domestic matter.