(AP)

Pakistan carried out air strikes on Afghanistan’s major cities overnight, officials in Islamabad and Kabul said on Friday, sharply escalating months of border tensions between the Islamic neighbours.The strikes targeted areas in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia after days of cross-border fire along the Durand Line. Both sides accused each other of starting the latest round of violence, with Islamabad declaring it was in an “open war” following retaliatory attacks by Taliban forces.

The escalation marks one of the most serious confrontations between the two countries since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, deepening an already strained relationship marked by militant attacks, border closures and diplomatic tensions.

Background: Rising militancy and mistrust

The confrontation comes after years of deteriorating ties following the Taliban’s return to power.Pakistan had welcomed the takeover in 2021, with then-Prime Minister Imran Khan saying that Afghans had “broken the shackles of slavery”. But relations soon became strained.Islamabad says the leadership of militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and many of its fighters are based in Afghanistan. It also says insurgents seeking independence for Pakistan’s southwestern province of Balochistan use Afghan territory as a safe haven.Militancy has increased every year since 2022, with attacks by the TTP and Baloch insurgents growing, according to Armed Conflict Location & Event Data.Kabul has repeatedly denied allowing militants to use Afghan territory to launch attacks in Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban say Pakistan harbours fighters from its enemy, Islamic State, a charge Islamabad denies.Pakistani security sources recently said they had “irrefutable evidence” that militants in Afghanistan were behind a wave of attacks and suicide bombings targeting Pakistani military and police. The sources listed seven planned or successful attacks since late 2024 that they said were connected to Afghanistan.One attack last week in Bajaur district killed 11 security personnel and two civilians. Pakistani security sources said it was undertaken by an Afghan national and claimed by the TTP.The TTP, formed in 2007, has attacked markets, mosques, airports, military bases and police stations, and has gained territory mostly along the Afghan border and deep inside Pakistan, including the Swat Valley.The group was behind the 2012 attack on then schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who later received the Nobel Peace Prize. It also fought alongside the Afghan Taliban against U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan.Pakistan has carried out military operations against the TTP on its soil with limited success. An offensive that ended in 2016 drastically reduced attacks for several years, but violence has surged again since 2022.

Latest escalation

The latest fighting began last week when Pakistani strikes on Nangarhar and Paktika provinces killed at least 13 civilians, according to the UN mission in Afghanistan. Afghan authorities described subsequent attacks on Pakistani border positions as retaliation for those strikes.On Thursday night, Taliban forces attacked Pakistani troops deployed along the Durand Line, calling it retaliation for earlier deadly strikes. Cross-border clashes intensified, and Pakistan carried out airstrikes in parts of Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia.Afghanistan’s Ministry of National Defence said 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed in retaliatory operations launched at 8:00 PM on the 9th of Ramadan, corresponding to February 26.“A few days ago, the Pakistani military circles, with great audacity, violated Afghan territory, breached our borders, and martyred women and children here,” the statement read.“In these retaliatory operations along the Durand Line, a total of 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed, two bases and 19 posts were captured,” the statement added.Pakistan rejected those claims. Mosharraf Ali Zaidi, spokesperson for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, said at least 133 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and more than 200 wounded. He also said 27 Afghan posts were destroyed and nine fighters captured, denying that any Pakistani soldiers had been taken prisoner.Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said two Pakistani soldiers were killed and three wounded. Pakistani officials also reported additional losses in strikes on military targets in Kabul, Paktia and Kandahar.Following the Pakistani strikes, Afghanistan’s spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid condemned the attack, calling the act by the Pakistani military “cowardly”.“The cowardly Pakistani military has carried out airstrikes in certain areas of Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia; fortunately, there have been no reported casualties,” Mujahid said in a statement on X.

‘Ghazab Lil Haq’ operation

In retaliation for the latest clashes, Pakistan initiated the ‘Ghazab Lil Haq’ operation targeting the Afghan Taliban regime, according to state media. State broadcaster PTV News said the operation was launched in response to what it called “unprovoked aggression” from Afghanistan.Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan’s armed forces are fully capable of responding to aggression. “Our forces have the full capability to crush any aggressive ambitions,” Sharif said, according to a post shared on the Pakistani government’s X account. “The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the Pakistan armed forces,” he added.Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif said the country had run out of “patience” and now considers itself in an “open war” with neighbouring Afghanistan. He accused the Taliban of aligning with India and turning Afghanistan into what he described as a base for hostile activity against Pakistan.“After the withdrawal of NATO forces, it was expected that there would be peace in Afghanistan and that the Taliban would focus on the interests of the Afghan people and peace in the region…They gathered all the terrorists of the world in Afghanistan and began exporting terrorism. They deprived their own people of basic human rights. They snatched away the rights that Islam grants to women,” his post read.“Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you. Now it will be ‘Dama Dam Mast Qalandar’. Pakistan’s army did not come from across the seas. We are your neighbours; we know your ins and outs. Allahu Akbar,” the Pakistani defence minister added.