Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan are escalating. Pakistan’s strikes targeted Taliban sites, resulting in heavy losses. This surge in violence jeopardizes the fragile ceasefire between the two nations.
Pakistan carried out strikes on Thursday night targeting locations in major Afghan cities, according to officials from both Pakistan and the Taliban. The hostilities between the two neighbors are intensifying.
Security sources in Pakistan reported that ground and aerial strikes were conducted on Taliban sites, headquarters, and ammunition depots along the border. Both Islamabad and Kabul confirmed heavy casualties, with differing reports that Reuters could not independently verify.
“Our patience has run out. This is now an open war between us (and Afghanistan),” said Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Friday.
The increase in violence along the 2,600 km border between the two countries highlights the fragility of the ceasefire agreed upon by Kabul and Islamabad following deadly clashes last October.
A Taliban spokesperson stated that Pakistani forces carried out strikes in certain areas of Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia. He mentioned that 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed, along with eight Taliban fighters and 11 others injured in Nangarhar province where 13 civilians were also wounded.
Videos shared by Pakistani security officials showed flashes of light in the night sky along the border between the two countries, with sounds of heavy artillery fire. Another video depicted strikes on Kabul, showing thick black smoke rising above the Afghan capital and a significant fire raging.
“The counterattack against targets in Afghanistan continues,” said a Pakistani government spokesperson on the social network X, explaining that the strikes were a response to “unjustified Afghan attacks”. He reported that 133 Taliban fighters were killed and over 200 others wounded.
Clashes erupted at the border between the two countries after Afghanistan launched attacks on Pakistani military positions Thursday night along the border, in retaliation to recent airstrikes carried out by Islamabad.
