Pakistan carried out airstrikes on several Afghan cities, including the capital Kabul, during the night of February 27. Pakistan’s defense minister, Khawaja Asif, said on the social network X that after several months of armed clashes, tensions between the two neighboring countries had escalated into an “open war.” The country’s information minister, Attaullah Tarar, confirmed on X that the Pakistani army struck targets in Kabul as well as in the provinces of Paktia and Kandahar.

“Our forces are capable of crushing any aggressive ambitions. The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the Pakistani armed forces,” said Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif.

Last week, Pakistan had already carried out several nighttime airstrikes in Afghanistan, which, according to the Taliban, killed at least 18 people, including women and children. Islamabad stated that the strikes targeted suspected militant camps near the Pakistan–Afghanistan border in response to a series of recent suicide attacks in Pakistan.

On Thursday, February 26, the Afghan Taliban reported that they had launched a “large-scale offensive” on border posts and killed “many” Pakistani soldiers. Pakistani authorities have so far confirmed the deaths of two servicemen.

In recent months, relations between the Taliban government in Afghanistan and Pakistan have sharply deteriorated. Islamabad accuses the neighboring country’s authorities of failing to act against armed groups that carry out terrorist attacks on its territory. The Taliban reject these accusations.