Pakistan Strikes Afghanistan Following Taliban Offensive
On Friday, Pakistan conducted bombing raids in Afghanistan after the Afghan Taliban announced a major offensive against Pakistani military posts near the border. This marks a significant escalation in tensions between the neighboring countries.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan stated that it launched an offensive on Pakistani military bases near the border on Thursday night. Pakistan responded within hours by bombing targets in Kabul and the Afghan provinces of Kandahar and Paktika, which lie close to its 2,600 km (1,615 miles) border.
Details are still emerging, and the BBC has yet to confirm casualties on either side. These bombings represent the most significant development in the ongoing tensions, following a ceasefire agreement last October after a week of deadly clashes.
What Happened Overnight?
The initial reports surfaced on Thursday, 26 February. According to Taliban officials, an offensive was launched at 20:00 local time (15:30 GMT) along the border in the provinces of Nangarhar, Nuristan, Kunar, Khost, Paktia, and Paktika.
Pakistan quickly retaliated, accusing the Taliban of having
"miscalculated and opened unprovoked fire on multiple locations"across the border in its north-western province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Islamabad's security forces responded with an
"immediate and effective response".
In the early hours of Friday, Pakistan launched a series of bombing raids on Afghanistan, striking targets in Kabul and border provinces. Further violence was reported near the key Torkham border crossing between Peshawar and Jalalabad, as observed by AFP journalists.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Afghan Taliban spokesman, posted on X that the group had launched strikes early Friday on Pakistani military positions in Kandahar and Helmand provinces, though the post was later deleted.
The Afghan Taliban claimed to have carried out air strikes on several targets within Pakistan on Friday morning. Taliban government sources told the BBC these were drone attacks launched from Afghanistan.
A Pakistani military officer confirmed that Afghan Taliban drones targeted three locations: the army's artillery school in Nowshehra, a site near a military academy in Abbottabad, and an area near a primary school in Swabi. All were reportedly destroyed.
These drone attacks are unprecedented. Taliban fighters are believed to rely mainly on commercially available drones equipped with improvised explosives, which limits their range and targeting capabilities. The BBC has not yet verified all claims.
What Are the Countries Saying?
As in previous hostilities, both Pakistan and Afghanistan accuse each other of initiating attacks and claim to have inflicted heavy losses.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated that his forces were able to
"crush"their foes, while the defence minister declared
"open war"on the Taliban in Afghanistan.
A Taliban military spokesperson told the BBC,
"The Afghan Taliban will retaliate if we are attacked, but we won't start clashes at the moment."
Zabihullah Mujahid claimed the offensive had killed
"numerous"Pakistani soldiers and captured others, a statement denied by Pakistani authorities.
Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesman for Pakistan's prime minister, reported that 133 Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed and more than 200 wounded by Pakistani forces as of 22:50 GMT on Thursday. The BBC has not independently verified these figures.
UN officials have called for immediate de-escalation, while Iran, which borders both countries, has offered to mediate. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi emphasized that it is currently Ramadan,
"the month of self-restraint and strengthening of solidarity in the Islamic world."
China, friendly to both Afghanistan and Pakistan, urged a ceasefire. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning called on both sides to
"remain calm and exercise restraint."
The foreign minister of Saudi Arabia, an ally of Pakistan, met with his Pakistani counterpart to discuss ways to reduce tensions.
Why Is This Happening?
The air strikes follow months of hostilities between the two countries. The last serious flare-up occurred in October, after which a fragile ceasefire was brokered by Turkey and Qatar.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan's Taliban government of supporting
"anti-Pakistan terrorists"responsible for suicide attacks in Pakistan, including a recent mosque attack in Islamabad. The Taliban government disputes this, asserting that Afghan territory is not used to threaten other countries.
The Taliban accuses Pakistan of unprovoked attacks that have resulted in civilian deaths. Pakistan maintains it targets only militants.
Earlier this week, Pakistan conducted multiple overnight air strikes on Afghanistan, which the Taliban said killed at least 18 people, including women and children.
Outgunned by nuclear-armed Pakistan, analysts consider it unlikely the Taliban would engage in conventional warfare. However, the Afghan Taliban has extensive guerrilla warfare experience.
Michael Kugelman, senior fellow for South Asia at the Atlantic Council, told the BBC's Newsday programme that the latest Pakistani strikes are significant because they target Taliban government facilities rather than terrorist targets.
"It's now targeting the regime itself,"he said.
Meanwhile, Taliban rhetoric suggests a commitment to
"staging relentless attacks"on Pakistan, creating a
"precarious situation"that could escalate into open conflict.
In a video message on Friday, the Afghan Taliban's military chief, Qari Muhammad Fasihuddin, warned Pakistan could expect
"an even more decisive response"in the future.
Additional reporting by the BBC Afghan and Urdu teams.
