Pakistan bombed Afghanistan’s capital Kabul early Friday and declared “open war” on its Taliban-run neighbor, escalating a conflict rooted in militant attacks that killed more than 1,200 people inside Pakistan last year.
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan’s “patience has run out” after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani military positions along the border Thursday night. Pakistan claims its airstrikes killed 274 Taliban fighters in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia province. The strikes destroyed 83 military posts. Twelve Pakistani soldiers died and 27 were wounded.
Afghanistan disputes those numbers. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghan forces killed 55 Pakistani soldiers. They captured 19 outposts. Eight Afghan soldiers died.
The Afghan government also claims 19 civilians were killed. Another 26 were injured, most of them women and children.
Pakistan blames Afghanistan’s Taliban government for harboring the Pakistani Taliban, known as TTP, which has doubled its attacks since the Afghan Taliban seized power in 2021. The TTP carried out more than 1,000 violent incidents across Pakistan in 2025. More than 3,500 Pakistani security personnel and civilians have been killed in TTP attacks since 2021.
Thursday’s Afghan attack came in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes Sunday on Afghan border areas. Pakistan said those strikes targeted TTP camps and killed 70 militants. Afghanistan said civilians died.
Pakistan’s military launched what it calls Operation Ghazab lil Haq, or “Righteous Fury,” striking ammunition depots and military infrastructure across Afghanistan. The Afghans have no air force. Pakistan’s F-16s and Chinese-made JF-17s give Islamabad air superiority, but Afghanistan’s Taliban fighters have decades of guerrilla warfare experience, including victory over US and NATO forces.
The United Nations urged both sides to protect civilians and resolve differences through diplomacy. Russia and Iran offered to mediate. A Qatar-brokered ceasefire from October had largely held until this week’s escalation.
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