The Pakistan-Afghanistan border situation has escalated sharply, with Pakistan confirming it is in a state of "open war" with Afghanistan after responding to Taliban attacks with multiple airstrikes.
On 27 Feb 2026 GMT+7, Mr. Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Pakistan's Defense Minister, declared that the country is now in "open war" with Afghanistan, following Pakistan's airstrikes on Kabul and several key Afghan cities.
Mr. Asif stated that Pakistan's patience has run out after months of intense cross-border clashes, despite a fragile ceasefire agreed upon last October. However, negotiations have failed to achieve a permanent resolution to the conflict.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif emphasized that the country's forces are fully capable of crushing all forms of aggressive ambitions and will not compromise in defending the homeland.
Earlier, the Taliban in Afghanistan claimed they launched a counter-operation around 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, seizing 19 Pakistani military checkpoints and 2 bases, and killing 55 Pakistani soldiers. However, these figures have yet to be independently verified.
In response, the Pakistan military immediately countered, stating the Taliban miscalculated and initiated unprovoked attacks in several areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in the northwest, before Pakistan conducted airstrikes targeting locations in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktika in the early hours of Friday.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, Pakistan Army spokesperson, claimed the military operation struck 22 Afghan military targets and killed over 200 Taliban fighters, while at least 12 Pakistani soldiers died.
Source: BBC, Aljazeera