Following fresh fighting along the shared border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Islamabad has declared "open war" on the Afghan Taliban administration. Hours after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops in what the Taliban government claimed was reprisal for deadly airstrikes earlier this week, Pakistan bombarded Afghanistan's Kabul and Kandahar on Friday, sparking the escalation. While Kabul reported that 55 Pakistani troops had perished in its onslaught, Pakistan claimed that its forces had killed 133 Afghan militants.We've had enough of patience. As the Pakistani military began operation 'Ghazab Lil Haq' against Afghanistan, Khawaja Asif, the country's defense minister, wrote on X that "it is now open war between us and you."

Both forces claimed to have killed scores of opposing soldiers as the fighting intensified, casting doubt on a ceasefire negotiated by Qatar.
The Claim of Afghanistan
At least three explosions were heard in Kabul, but neither the precise site of the attacks nor any possible casualties were immediately known. Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban leadership, claimed that Pakistan also conducted airstrikes in the southeast province of Paktia and in the southern city of Kandahar.
Hours earlier, Afghanistan claimed that its military had overrun over a dozen Pakistani army sites and that it had started an attack into Pakistan late Thursday in retribution for Pakistani airstrikes that killed people on the Afghan border last Sunday.

Eight Afghan soldiers were also killed in the land offensive, according to the country's defense ministry.
Several civilians were injured in a camp for those returning from Pakistan close to the Torkham border crossing, an Afghan official told news agency AFP. According to Nangarhar province's information chief Qureshi Badlun, "a mortar shell has hit the camp and unfortunately seven of our refugees have been wounded, and the condition of one woman is serious."
Although Afghan returnees have been permitted to cross, the border has been mostly blocked since combat began in October.The Claim of Pakistan
Although they did not specify any possible casualties, the Associated Press reported that Pakistan's military conducted airstrikes against what they claimed were Afghan military installations in the provinces of Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia, apparently destroying two brigade bases.
Pakistan's authorities denied reports that army stations had been taken and characterized Thursday's Afghan offensive as unprovoked, after last Sunday's airstrikes were reported as an attack on militants harbored in the region.As Islamabad began Operation Ghazab lil-Haq against the Afghan Taliban because to "unprovoked firing" from across the border, Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar wrote on X that Afghan Taliban defense targets were attacked in Kabul, Paktia (province), and Kandahar.

The Afghan Taliban's key military facilities in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia have been targeted by Pakistani forces, according to PTV News, the country's official broadcaster. According to the source, the strikes have damaged one corps headquarters and one brigade headquarters in Kandahar, and at least two brigade headquarters in Kabul. Additionally, it stated that a corps headquarters had been damaged in Paktia and an ammo storage and logistics facility had been destroyed in Kandahar.
Mohsin Naqvi, the interior minister of Pakistan, has denounced the Afghan Taliban for their attacks on civilians. Pakistan's security forces have responded appropriately to the Afghan Taliban's open aggression, according to a statement made on X by Naqvi, who is also the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

"In the dark of the night, the cowardly enemy struck." He remarked, "The Afghan Taliban made a heinous attempt to target innocent civilians."
"The armed forces and the country stand side by side." The attack by the Afghan Taliban was a grave error. There will be severe repercussions for them. He declared, "We will not permit our security to be jeopardized."
Inconsistency in Casualty Statistics
The numbers of casualties recorded by the two sides differed significantly.
According to Afghanistan's Defense Ministry, "several others were captured alive" and 55 Pakistani soldiers had been slain, some of whose bodies had been brought into the country. It estimated that eight people were murdered and eleven more were injured.At midnight, roughly four hours after the operation began, the ministry reported that it had damaged two bases and 19 Pakistani army installations.
However, Attaullah Tarar, Pakistan's minister of information, stated that two Pakistani soldiers had been killed and three more were injured. 36 Afghan fighters have reportedly been slain, he said. He said that Pakistan was responding to what he described as unjustified firing from Afghanistan with a "strong and effective response" in a post on X.
Shehbaz Sharif's spokesperson, Mosharraf Ali Zaidi, denied that any Pakistani soldiers had been taken prisoner.He later stated in a post on X that at least 133 Afghan fighters had been killed and another 200 had been injured, adding that nine fighters had been taken prisoner and that 27 Afghani posts had also been destroyed. He said that there would be "many more casualties estimated in strikes in Kabul, Paktia, and Kandahar military targets," although he did not say where the victims perished.
Firefights in the Torkham border region were also reported by both sides.
According to Qureshi Badlon, head of Torkham's Information and Public Awareness Board, Afghan police were evacuating a camp of refugees near the border crossing in Torkham after multiple refugees were injured. A missile strike on the camp injured 13 civilians, including women and children, according to the defense ministry.

Some Afghan refugees who had been waiting to return to Afghanistan were also relocated to safe regions, according to authorities on the Pakistani side of the border. In October 2023, Pakistan initiated a massive crackdown on migrants, leading to the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of individuals.
Although there were no reports of civilian injuries, Pakistani authorities reported mortars launched from Afghanistan had fallen in neighboring areas. In a post on X, Pakistan's Information Ministry stated that it would take all necessary steps to protect its territorial integrity as well as the safety and security of its people.

The Afghan military released video showing heavy shooting and military vehicles moving at night. They also asserted that they had taken control of a number of military posts in Pakistan. It was not possible to independently verify the footage.
Afghanistan also claimed that an F-16 fighter jet from Pakistan was shot down by its soldiers. They uploaded a video of a burning plane carcass.
Tensions in Af-Pak
For months, there has been a lot of tension between the two neighbors. In October, there were violent border confrontations that claimed the lives of numerous military, civilians, and suspected terrorists. As mandated by international law, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has encouraged all sides to safeguard civilians and "to continue to seek to resolve any differences through diplomacy," according to UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

Following bombings in Kabul that Afghan government attributed on Pakistan, there was bloodshed. At the time, Islamabad attacked insurgent hideouts deep within Afghanistan. The two sides have periodically exchanged gunfire across the border, however a ceasefire negotiated by Qatar has mainly held. A formal agreement was not reached during several rounds of peace negotiations in November.
The Pakistani military claimed to have killed at least 70 militants during strikes along the Afghan border on Sunday.
Afghanistan denied the allegation, claiming that dozens of civilians, including women and children, had perished. The strikes violated Afghanistan's airspace and sovereignty, according to Kabul's defense ministry.

Pakistan has banned Baloch separatist organizations and blamed the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, for a large portion of the current spike in militant violence. Although distinct from the Taliban in Afghanistan, the TTP has strong ties to them. The TTP and Kabul both refute Islamabad's accusation that they are operating from inside Afghanistan.