Airstrikes and Retaliation Mark Sharp Escalation
After months of relative quiet, fighting has erupted again between Pakistan and the Taliban government in Afghanistan, raising fears of a wider conflict. Pakistan launched airstrikes early Friday on Kabul and other locations, describing the operation as a response to Taliban attacks on its border positions the night before.
Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Islamabad’s patience had “run out,” while the military announced the start of Operation Ghazab lil Haq (“Righteous Fury”). According to Pakistan, the strikes targeted Taliban military facilities in Kabul and Kandahar and killed more than 100 fighters. Kandahar is particularly significant as it is home to Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that three provinces were hit and said Afghan forces had begun retaliatory attacks against Pakistani positions. Kabul’s Defence Ministry reported eight Afghan soldiers killed. Both sides claimed to have targeted military installations, and reports suggested Pakistani troops had taken control of several border posts.
The Long Shadow of Militancy and a Disputed Border
At the core of the crisis is Pakistan’s long-standing accusation that the Afghan Taliban shelter Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban. Islamabad says the TTP uses Afghan territory to launch attacks inside Pakistan.
The TTP emerged in 2007 from a merger of militant factions and seeks to overthrow the Pakistani state. Though formally separate from the Afghan Taliban, the two groups share ideological and social ties. Pakistan views this relationship as a direct threat to its security, especially as violence has surged in provinces bordering Afghanistan, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The Balochistan Liberation Army has also stepped up its own insurgent activity in recent years.
Tensions are further complicated by the disputed 2,600-kilometre Durand Line, the mountainous border that Afghanistan has never formally recognised, arguing it unfairly divides Pashtun communities.
Regional Politics and the India Factor
Beyond cross-border militancy, regional politics may also be fueling the escalation. Some analysts believe Pakistan is increasingly uneasy about Kabul’s perceived closeness to India.
Asif accused the Taliban of turning Afghanistan into “a colony of India,” suggesting that Islamabad sees geopolitical alignment as part of the problem. He also pointed to Pakistan’s decades-long hosting of millions of Afghan refugees, saying the country’s restraint had reached its limit.
The Taliban government rejected the accusations, insisting Afghan soil has not been used against any country and describing Pakistan’s fight with the TTP as an internal matter.
Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Pakistan has carried out multiple airstrikes inside Afghanistan. Clashes between the two sides have become increasingly common, despite a Qatar-brokered ceasefire in late 2025 that temporarily reduced hostilities.
Whether the latest round of strikes spirals into full-scale war remains uncertain. For now, both sides appear locked in a dangerous cycle of retaliation, with diplomacy struggling to keep pace.
