Tensions rise sharply between Pakistan and Afghanistan as Pakistan conducts airstrikes on Taliban positions in Kabul in response to cross-border attacks.
Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have dramatically escalated, pushing the region to the brink of declared conflict. Following Afghan attacks on Thursday along the border, the Pakistani armed forces responded with airstrikes targeting several locations in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia. This marks the most critical point in the bilateral relations since the crisis in October of the previous year and highlights the persistent instability along one of South Asia's most contentious borders.
According to a spokesperson for the Pakistani government, the air attacks resulted in 133 Taliban deaths and left over 200 injured. Islamabad claims to have destroyed 27 militant positions while seizing control of nine others. The Afghan authorities confirmed the airstrikes but did not provide an official casualty count, instead denouncing the attacks as "unprovoked" and asserting that they caused civilian casualties.
The Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has accused the Taliban regime of fostering instability and directly threatening Pakistan's national security, which has further inflamed the situation. This ongoing conflict between the two nations not only threatens regional security but also has wider implications for international relations, given the historical backdrop of tension in the region and the involvement of external powers within the Afghanistan issue.
