AFP reported this morning that Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan including the capital Kabul on Friday. Islamabad’s defence minister defence minister Khawaja Asif declared the country’s neighbours are at “open war” which has resulted in an “all-out confrontation” with the Taliban government.
Near the key Torkham border crossing between the two countries, an AFP journalist heard shelling from around 9:30 am (0500 GMT) on Friday, and a camp accommodating Afghans returning en masse from Pakistan was hit by the fighting overnight.
Pakistan’s latest operation came after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops on Thursday night over earlier air strikes by Islamabad.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of failing to act against militant groups that carry out attacks in Pakistan. Most of the attacks have been claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a terrorist group that has stepped up assaults in Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.
Mosharraf Zaidi, the Pakistani prime minister’s international spokesman said on X eary this morning
In response to unprovoked Afghan attacks, Pakistani counter strikes have been authorised and several iterations of these strikes have been conducted. A total of 72 Afghan Taliban combatants have been terminated, more than 120 have been injured. Sixteen (16) Afghan Taliban posts have been destroyed and seven (7) Afghan Taliban posts have been captured.
