Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan has largely escalated, with Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif stating that the situation has now entered an “open war.”
What’s happening now?
There were reports of explosions and the sound of planes in the early hours of Friday in Kabul, just hours after Afghanistan announced that it had launched attacks on Pakistani border posts.
Pakistan’s military announced that it has started an operation called “Ghazab Lil Haq,” saying that it is a response to unprovoked firing from the other side of the border. Shortly after, Khawaja Asif posted on X that the patience of the country has run out and that the situation has entered an open phase. “Our patience has reached its limit. Now it is open war between us and you”, he wrote.
Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry, however, said that it had conducted “large-scale offensive operations” against Pakistani military installations along the Durand Line. It said that it has captured over a dozen Pakistani military posts and destroyed 19 check posts and two bases, with the fighting ending at midnight.
However, these allegations were denied by Pakistan. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed that two Pakistani soldiers were killed and three others injured, while 36 Afghan fighters lost their lives. On the other hand, Afghanistan claimed that 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed and some others captured, while eight Afghan soldiers lost their lives and 11 others were injured.
What led to this escalation?
The recent violence started when Pakistani airstrikes took place along the Afghan border on Sunday. Islamabad said that the airstrikes targeted the camps of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, also known as TTP.
Afghanistan claimed that the airstrikes targeted civilian areas and disregarded the sovereignty of the country. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid stated that the cross-border attack was carried out in response to Pakistani actions.
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Later, Pakistan claimed that airstrikes targeted Afghan military installations in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia. According to Afghan officials, civilians were injured near the Torkham border crossing due to shelling of a returnees' camp.
People living in the border areas of both countries have been shifted to safe areas.
