Pakistan has confirmed that it carried out air strikes on the Afghan cities of Kabul and Kandahar in the early hours of Friday, in what officials described as retaliation for attacks by Taliban forces along the disputed frontier between the two countries.

The strikes, which Pakistani authorities called “counter measures” against unprovoked aggression, follow the deaths of two Pakistani soldiers in clashes on the border. The confrontation now threatens to spiral into the gravest crisis between Islamabad and the Taliban authorities in Kabul since their fragile ceasefire was agreed last October.

In a stark escalation of rhetoric, Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, declared what he termed “open war” against Afghanistan’s Taliban government. Writing on X, he said: “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.”

The language marks a dramatic shift from recent months, during which both sides publicly committed themselves to de-escalation despite frequent accusations of ceasefire violations.

Residents in Kabul reported being jolted awake by powerful explosions at about 1.50am local time. An AFP news team in the capital described hearing the roar of jets followed by blasts that echoed across the city. Gunfire rattled through central districts for roughly forty minutes. There was no immediate confirmation of casualties.

In southern Kandahar, the Taliban’s spiritual heartland, witnesses reported further explosions. Pakistani officials later confirmed that strikes had also targeted areas of Paktika province, near the porous border that has long been a source of tension.

Islamabad said the raids were aimed at “militant camps and hideouts” used by anti-Pakistan groups sheltering inside Afghanistan. The government has repeatedly accused the Taliban administration of tolerating, if not actively supporting, insurgents responsible for a string of deadly attacks inside Pakistan, including a recent suicide bombing at a mosque in the capital.

The Taliban deny the charge. They insist Afghan territory is not being used to threaten any neighbouring state and accuse Pakistan of launching indiscriminate attacks that kill civilians.

The immediate trigger for the latest escalation appears to have been a Taliban operation along the border on Thursday evening. Taliban military spokesman Mawlawi Wahidullah Mohammadi said a “large-scale retaliatory operation” began at around 8pm local time. The group’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed the offensive had killed “numerous” Pakistani soldiers and overrun 15 military posts.

Islamabad swiftly rejected those claims. A spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister said the assertions were “baseless and exaggerated”. Later, however, Pakistan confirmed that two of its soldiers had been killed and three wounded after what it described as “unprovoked fire” from across the frontier.

The pattern is grimly familiar. As with previous flare-ups, each side accuses the other of firing first and of inflating enemy losses. Verification is difficult in the remote and mountainous borderlands where the clashes occur.

Only last week Pakistan acknowledged conducting multiple overnight air strikes on Afghan territory. Taliban officials said at least 18 people, including women and children, were killed when homes and a religious school were hit. Islamabad said it had targeted seven militant camps following a spate of suicide bombings on its soil.

The tit-for-tat violence has steadily eroded the October 2025 ceasefire, brokered after several days of intense fighting. Turkey and Qatar had sought to mediate between the two governments, urging confidence-building measures and a structured dialogue on security co-operation.

Although a temporary halt in large-scale hostilities followed, negotiations failed to produce a comprehensive settlement. Each side accused the other of bad faith. Skirmishes continued sporadically along the frontier, with both militaries reinforcing positions in anticipation of renewed conflict.

For Pakistan, the central grievance remains what it calls the sanctuary enjoyed by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and allied militant groups in Afghan territory. Islamabad argues that the Taliban’s ideological kinship with these factions has translated into operational tolerance. The Taliban leadership rejects this as a pretext for cross-border aggression.

On Friday, Attaullah Tarar, Pakistan’s minister for information and broadcasting, told state television that the armed forces had “once again demonstrated that any aggression or hostile designs against the country will be met with an iron hand”. He confirmed strikes in Kandahar province, Kabul and Paktika, describing them as a direct response to Taliban attacks.

There was no immediate independent assessment of damage in the targeted cities. Taliban officials were expected to address the nation later in the day. In previous statements, they have vowed that any violation of Afghan sovereignty would be answered in kind.

The deteriorating security environment is likely to alarm regional powers already uneasy about instability spilling across borders. Both Pakistan and Afghanistan face acute economic challenges and humanitarian pressures; renewed conflict risks compounding them.

Diplomats fear that the explicit declaration of “open war” will harden positions on both sides. While neither government has formally announced a state of war, the rhetoric suggests a readiness for sustained confrontation rather than limited punitive strikes.

Whether the latest exchanges represent a brief but violent episode or the beginning of a protracted campaign remains uncertain. What is clear is that the fragile understanding that held, however imperfectly, since October has now been shattered.

As dawn broke over Kabul and Kandahar, the sound of jets had faded. In its place lingered a familiar question for a border that has seldom known lasting peace: how far, this time, will the escalation go?

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