February 27, 2026 / 12:28 AM EST / AFP
Pakistan launched air strikes on major Afghan cities including Kabul on Friday, and Islamabad’s defense minister said the two neighbors were now in “open war” after months of escalating cross-border clashes.
AFP journalists in Kabul and Kandahar reported hearing jets and multiple blasts, as Pakistani forces struck targets in the capital and the Taliban’s southern power base. Pakistani officials said air and ground operations also hit sites in Paktia and Kandahar provinces.
The strikes followed an Afghan attack on Pakistani border troops late Thursday, itself a response to earlier Pakistani strikes. Relations between the countries have deteriorated since deadly fighting in October that killed more than 70 people and left border crossings largely closed.
“Weapons and defence targets of the Afghan Taliban were targeted in Kabul, Paktia and Kandahar,” Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on X. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declared “an all-out confrontation” with the Taliban government, adding, “Our patience has reached its limit. Now it is open war between us and you.” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan’s armed forces have the capacity “to crush any aggressive ambitions.”
In Kabul, residents and journalists heard repeated explosions and gunfire over several hours. An AFP reporter in Kandahar also heard jets overhead. The Taliban government confirmed Pakistani air strikes; spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said there were no casualties and said the Taliban had launched “large-scale offensive operations” at the border in response to repeated Pakistani violations. The Afghan defense ministry reported eight Afghan soldiers were killed in the land offensive.
Local officials reported civilian injuries near the Torkham border crossing at a camp for people returning from Pakistan. Qureshi Badlun, Nangarhar province information chief, said a mortar hit the camp, wounding seven returnees, with one woman in serious condition. While the border has been mostly closed since October, some Afghan returnees have been allowed to cross.
Both sides have reported dozens of military casualties in recent rounds of violence. The Taliban said several Pakistani soldiers were “caught alive,” a claim Islamabad’s prime minister’s office denied.
The UN mission in Afghanistan said Pakistani strikes on Nangarhar and Paktika provinces overnight into Sunday killed at least 13 civilians. Both sides had also reported cross-border fire earlier in the week without casualties.
The flare-up comes amid a string of deadly suicide attacks across the region in recent months, including a mosque attack in Islamabad that killed at least 40 people and was claimed by Islamic State, and an IS-K claimed restaurant bombing in Kabul last month. Islamabad accuses the Taliban government of failing to act against militants who carry out attacks in Pakistan; the Taliban deny they provide safe haven.
Previous attempts to steady the situation—including a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey and follow-up negotiations—have failed to produce a lasting settlement. Saudi Arabia recently mediated the release of three Pakistani soldiers captured by Afghanistan in October, but breaches of the ceasefire have continued.