Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said early Friday (27 February) that Islamabad now considers itself in “open war” with Afghanistan following cross-border strikes.
In his post on X, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said that after the NATO withdrawal “it was expected that there would be peace in Afghanistan,” but alleged the Taliban had instead “turned Afghanistan into a colony of India” and were “exporting terrorism.”
He accused the Taliban of depriving Afghans of “basic human rights” and “snatch[ing] away the rights that Islam grants to women.” Asif said Pakistan had pursued “full-fledged diplomacy” and made “every effort to keep the situation normal,” but added that “our cup of patience has overflowed” and declared: “Now it is open war between us and you.” He concluded that Pakistan’s forces were giving a “decisive response” to what he described as aggression.
Pakistan confirmed airstrikes in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia, describing them as retaliation for Afghan cross-border attacks. The escalation follows a ceasefire reportedly mediated by Qatar and Türkiye months earlier.
Key developments:
• Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said overnight that 55 Pakistani soldiers had been killed. It said eight Afghan soldiers were killed and 11 wounded. The ministry said it destroyed 19 Pakistani army posts and two bases and that the fighting ended around midnight, about four hours after it began Thursday.
• Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar reported two fatalities and three wounded.
• Mosharraf Ali Zaidi, spokesperson for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, denied capture claims and said 133 Afghan fighters were killed and more than 200 wounded. He also said 27 Afghan posts were destroyed and nine fighters captured.
Casualty claims remain unverified.
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