Pakistan and Afghanistan traded overnight cross-border strikes in a sharp escalation of hostilities, prompting Pakistan’s defense minister to declare the two nations are now in “open war.”
Late Thursday, Afghanistan launched attacks on Pakistani targets, saying they were in response to deadly Pakistani airstrikes along Afghan border regions earlier in the week. Early Friday, Pakistan retaliated with airstrikes in Kabul and two additional provinces, stating that military facilities were targeted.
Relations between the neighbors have been strained for months. Deadly border clashes in October killed soldiers, civilians and suspected militants. Islamabad accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities of sheltering militant groups responsible for attacks inside Pakistan and of strengthening ties with rival India.
A ceasefire brokered by Qatar halted heavy fighting in October, but subsequent peace talks in Turkey failed to secure a durable settlement. Sporadic clashes have continued since. Qatar’s minister of state, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz al-Khulaifi, held calls Friday with both countries’ foreign ministers in an attempt to calm tensions.
Afghan government spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid described the latest strikes as a warning to Pakistan, accusing it of avoiding dialogue. Pakistan’s Defense Minister, Khawaja Mohammad Asif, responded that Pakistan’s “patience has run out,” declaring the conflict an open war. He added that Islamabad had hoped stability would follow NATO’s 2021 withdrawal but instead accused the Taliban of drawing closer to India.
Asif further alleged that Afghanistan was “exporting terrorism,” repeating long-standing Pakistani claims that Kabul supports the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch separatist groups. Kabul denies these accusations, and Mujahid said Pakistan’s militancy problems are internal and longstanding.
Both sides issued sharply conflicting casualty figures. Pakistan’s military said hundreds of Afghan forces and militants were killed or wounded, while reporting a dozen Pakistani soldiers killed. Afghan officials rejected those numbers, claiming heavier Pakistani losses and reporting Afghan military and civilian casualties from Pakistani strikes in Khost and Paktika provinces. Independent verification was not immediately possible.
Pakistan also reported thwarting drone attacks in northwestern cities, blaming Pakistani Taliban elements and alleging links to Afghanistan’s Taliban government.
International actors urged restraint. Turkey’s foreign minister held calls with regional counterparts, while the United Nations secretary-general called for diplomacy and civilian protection. Russia and Iran also pressed for an immediate halt to the fighting and offered support for dialogue.
Meanwhile, Pakistani authorities relocated Afghan refugees from border areas amid security concerns. Since Pakistan began expelling undocumented migrants in late 2023, millions have returned to Afghanistan, according to the U.N. refugee agency, with tens of thousands returning this year alone.