Pakistan launched air strikes on Kabul and other Afghan cities early on Friday, marking the most serious escalation between the neighbours in months and prompting Islamabad to declare “open war” on the Taliban authorities.
Jets struck targets in the Afghan capital at about 1:50am local time, according to Al Jazeera, which cited its correspondent in Kabul. Residents reported loud explosions and anti-aircraft fire over the city. Blasts were also heard in Kandahar and in Paktia province.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif wrote on X that his country’s “patience has run out” and that “it is now open war between us and you”. He accused the Taliban of acting as “a proxy for India” and of allowing armed groups to operate from Afghan soil.
Islamabad said the operation, named “Ghazab Lil Haqq”, targeted Afghan Taliban defence facilities in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia. Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesperson for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, said 133 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and more than 200 wounded. He added that nine positions were captured and 27 destroyed. The figures could not be independently verified.
The Taliban government rejected Pakistan’s account of heavy losses. Spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani aircraft struck Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia but reported no casualties from the capital. Afghan officials said eight Afghan soldiers were killed and 11 wounded in earlier clashes along the border.
The fighting followed Taliban attacks late on Thursday against Pakistani military posts along the 2,611 kilometre frontier. Kabul described those assaults as retaliation for Pakistani strikes last weekend that it said killed at least 18 people. The United Nations has stated that at least 13 civilians died in earlier bombardments.
Heavy exchanges of fire were reported near the Torkham crossing, a key trade route. AFP journalists in Kabul and Kandahar reported jets overhead and artillery fire. Afghan troops were seen moving towards the border.
On the Pakistani side, police in Bajaur district said a mortar shell from Afghanistan struck a house and injured five people, including two children and a woman.
The escalation follows months of tension linked to attacks by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, an armed group distinct from the Afghan Taliban. Islamabad accuses Kabul of providing sanctuary to TTP fighters. The Taliban deny the charge.
According to data shared by the Pakistani military with CNN, more than 1,200 people, including civilians and security personnel, were killed in militant attacks across Pakistan in 2025. That figure is double the number recorded in 2021, when the Taliban returned to power in Kabul after the withdrawal of US and NATO forces.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies estimates Pakistan’s armed forces at about 660,000 active personnel, supported by nearly 300,000 paramilitary and police units. Afghanistan’s Taliban forces number fewer than 200,000 and lack a modern air force, relying on light aircraft and drones.
Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai wrote on X that Afghans would “defend their beloved homeland with complete unity”. He urged Pakistan to “choose the path of good neighbourliness, respect and civilised relations with Afghanistan”.
The United Nations called for restraint. Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged both sides to uphold international humanitarian law and protect civilians. Iran and Russia also called for dialogue and offered support for mediation. Zalmay Khalilzad, a former US envoy to Afghanistan, said on X that the cycle of attacks was a “terrible dynamic that must stop”.
Taliban expand internal legal controls
In January, Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada signed a decree introducing a new legal framework that divides society into social categories and differentiates punishments based on status. Afghan rights group Rawadari said the regulation refers to “free persons” and “slaves” and grants husbands authority to enforce certain penalties.
UN Women said the decree removes equality between men and women before the law and places husbands in a position of authority over their wives. The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security stated that the regulation legalises forms of violence and discrimination against women.
Since 2021, the Taliban have restricted girls’ education, limited women’s employment and curtailed their presence in public life. Rights organisations and UN bodies have described conditions for women and girls as gender-based apartheid.
Diplomatic contacts between Islamabad and Kabul have continued in recent months, including talks in Doha, Istanbul and Riyadh.
HT