Pakistan declares ‘open war’ against Afghanistan

Pakistan carried out overnight airstrikes on Afghanistan’s capital Kabul and the southern city of Kandahar, sharply escalating cross-border tensions between the two countries.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif declared in a post on X early Friday (February 27) that Islamabad had exhausted diplomatic channels to ease the situation. “Now it is an open war between us,” he wrote, signalling a dramatic hardening of Pakistan’s stance.

Additionally, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari said the country’s armed forces would deliver a “comprehensive and decisive” response.

According to reports from Kabul, the first wave of strikes hit around 1:50am (local time), followed by a second round of bombing.

However, no immediate casualties reported yet.

The air raids came a day after Afghan forces allegedly attacked Pakistani military positions along the border, killing two Pakistani soldiers, according to Islamabad. The latest strikes are widely viewed as retaliatory.

The escalation follows recent cross-border violence. The United Nations mission in Afghanistan said earlier this week that Pakistani strikes in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces killed 13 civilians. Casualty figures, however, remain contested. Pakistan claims more than 80 armed fighters were killed in earlier operations, while Kabul reported 18 deaths.

Following those incidents, a Taliban military spokesperson warned of a retaliatory campaign, raising fears of a broader military confrontation between the two neighbours.