Pakistan carried out air
strikes on Afghanistan’s major cities overnight, officials in
Islamabad and Kabul said on Friday, escalating months of border
clashes between the Islamic neighbours.
The air and ground strikes, which hit Taliban military
posts, headquarters and ammunition depots in multiple sectors
along the border, came after Afghanistan launched an attack on
Pakistani border forces, the officials said.
Both sides reported heavy losses in the fighting, which
Pakistan’s defence minister said amounted to an “open war”.
Tensions have heated up since Pakistan launched air strikes
on militant targets in Afghanistan last weekend.
Earlier, border clashes between the two countries killed
dozens of soldiers in October until negotiations facilitated by
Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia ceased the hostilities and a
fragile ceasefire was put in place.
WHY ARE THE NEIGHBOURS AT ODDS?
Pakistan welcomed the return to power of the Taliban in
2021, with then-Prime Minister Imran Khan saying that Afghans
had “broken the shackles of slavery”.
But Islamabad soon found that the Taliban were not as
cooperative as it had hoped.
Islamabad says that the leadership of militant group
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and many of its fighters are
based in Afghanistan, and that armed insurgents seeking
independence for the southwestern Pakistani province of
Balochistan also use Afghanistan as a safe haven.
Militancy has increased every year since 2022 with attacks
by the TTP and Baloch insurgents growing, according to Armed
Conflict Location & Event Data, a global monitoring
organization.
Kabul for its part has repeatedly denied allowing militants
to use Afghan territory to launch attacks in Pakistan.
The Afghan Taliban say Pakistan harbours fighters from its
enemy, Islamic State, a charge Islamabad denies.
Islamabad says the ceasefire did not hold long due to
continued militant attacks in Pakistan from Afghanistan, and
there have been repeated clashes and border closures since then
that have disrupted trade and movement along the rugged
frontier.
WHAT SPARKED THE LATEST CLASHES?
The day before last weekend’s strikes, Pakistani security
sources said they had “irrefutable evidence” that militants in
Afghanistan were behind a recent wave of attacks and suicide
bombings which targeted Pakistani military and police.
The sources listed seven planned or successful attacks by
militants since late 2024 that they said were connected to
Afghanistan.
One attack last week that killed 11 security personnel and
two civilians in Bajaur district was undertaken by an Afghan
national, according to Pakistani security sources. This attack
was claimed by the TTP.
WHO ARE THE PAKISTANI TALIBAN?
The TTP was formed in 2007 by several militant outfits
active in northwest Pakistan. It is commonly known as the
Pakistani Taliban.
The TTP has attacked markets, mosques, airports, military
bases, police stations and also gained territory – mostly along
the border with Afghanistan, but also deep inside Pakistan,
including the Swat Valley. The group was behind the 2012 attack
on then schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who received the Nobel
Peace Prize two years later.
The TTP also fought alongside the Afghan Taliban against
U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan and hosted Afghan fighters in
Pakistan. Pakistan has launched military operations against the
TTP on its own soil with limited success, although an offensive
that ended in 2016 drastically reduced attacks till a few years
ago.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Pakistan is likely to intensify its military campaign,
analysts say, while Kabul’s retaliation could come in the way of
raids on border posts and more cross-border guerrilla attacks to
target security forces.
On paper, there is a wide mismatch between the military
capabilities of two sides. At 172,000, the Taliban have less
than a third of Pakistan’s personnel.
The Taliban do possess at least six aircraft and 23
helicopters but their condition is unknown and they have no
fighter jets or effective air force.
Pakistan’s armed forces include more than 600,000 active
personnel, have more than 6,000 armoured fighting vehicles and
more than 400 combat aircraft, according to 2025 data from the
International Institute for Strategic Studies. The country is
also nuclear armed.
Published on February 27, 2026
