Pakistan Declares "Open War" on Afghan Taliban After Cross-Border Strikes Escalate Tensions

Islamabad - Ekhbary News Agency

Pakistan Declares "Open War" on Afghan Taliban After Cross-Border Strikes Escalate Tensions

In a dramatic escalation of long-simmering border tensions, Pakistan has launched a series of extensive air strikes against targets across Afghanistan, including its capital Kabul, with Islamabad declaring that its "patience has run out" with the Afghan Taliban authorities. The unprecedented aerial bombardments, which unfolded early Friday morning, mark a severe deterioration in bilateral relations, prompting immediate retaliatory actions from Afghanistan and urgent calls for de-escalation from the international community.

Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif conveyed a stark message, asserting that his nation would now be waging "open war" against elements perceived to be destabilizing Pakistan from Afghan soil. This declaration followed a series of cross-border attacks by Afghan forces on Pakistani military positions along their shared, porous border earlier in the week, further exacerbating an already volatile situation. Reports from Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Kabul, Nasser Shadid, detailed multiple bombing raids targeting the Afghan capital around 1:50am local time, met with anti-aircraft fire from Afghan forces. An Afghan government source subsequently confirmed an air strike on Kabul, with Pakistani warplanes also reportedly hitting a military base in Kandahar province.

Islamabad framed its actions as a necessary response to "aggression" emanating from Afghanistan. Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar claimed that Friday's attacks resulted in the deaths of 133 Afghan Taliban fighters, with targets including Taliban positions in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia. Tarar further stated that Pakistani forces had captured nine Taliban positions and destroyed 27 others, indicating ongoing operations. Conversely, Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that Afghanistan had initiated its own retaliatory strikes against Pakistani military bases in Kandahar and Helmand, asserting these were a direct response to Pakistan's latest incursions.

The tit-for-tat exchanges have plunged the region into a deeper crisis. An Afghan military source, speaking to Al Jazeera, alleged that ten Pakistani soldiers were killed and thirteen outposts captured in Thursday's attacks by Afghan forces, which they maintained were a response to earlier Pakistani strikes on Afghan border positions last Sunday. Pakistan, for its part, claimed its Sunday attacks had killed at least 70 fighters, a figure rejected by Afghanistan, which instead reported civilian casualties.

The roots of this escalating conflict lie in Pakistan's long-standing accusation that the Taliban government in Kabul has failed to prevent armed groups, particularly the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – often referred to as the Pakistan Taliban – from using Afghan territory as a safe haven to launch attacks on Pakistani soil. While sharing deep ideological ties with the Afghan Taliban, the TTP is a distinct entity, yet Pakistan views Kabul's inaction as complicity. Defence Minister Asif articulated Pakistan's frustration, stating, "Pakistan made every effort to keep the situation normal through direct means and through friendly countries. It engaged in full-fledged diplomacy. But the Taliban became a proxy for India." This contentious claim, linking the Afghan Taliban to Pakistan's arch-rival India, adds a complex geopolitical layer to the conflict, especially given a brief border skirmish between India and Pakistan in May and New Delhi's recent condemnation of Pakistan's Sunday attacks on Afghanistan as an attempt to "externalise its internal failures."

The humanitarian dimension of this conflict is also significant. Asif highlighted Pakistan's historical role in hosting millions of Afghan refugees for decades, noting that "even today, millions of Afghans are earning their livelihood on our soil. Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you." This underscores the immense pressure Pakistan feels from continued cross-border militancy despite its long-standing hospitality.

In response to the alarming developments, the international community has voiced grave concern. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, through his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, urged all parties "to uphold their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, and to ensure the protection of civilians." Guterres further called for continued diplomatic engagement and commended recent mediation efforts by various Member States. Zalmay Khalilzad, a former United States ambassador to Afghanistan, echoed these sentiments, warning that the recent cycle of attacks constituted a "terrible dynamic that must stop." He advocated for a diplomatic agreement, monitored by a trusted third party like Turkiye, to ensure neither country allows its territory to be used to threaten the other's security, presenting it as a "wiser course than continuing with attacks and counterattacks."

The statement from Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office underscored national unity, affirming that "The people of Pakistan and its Armed Forces are fully prepared to safeguard the nation’s security, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. There will be no leniency in defending our beloved homeland, and any aggression will be met with a fitting response." The 2,611-kilometre-long (1,622-mile) border shared by Pakistan and Afghanistan has been a flashpoint for decades, with relations plummeting further after fighting in October killed over 70 people. The current escalation marks a perilous chapter in this fraught relationship, demanding immediate and concerted diplomatic efforts to avert a wider regional conflict.

Ekhbary News Agency