Cross-Border Attacks Ignite Fresh Violence
After months of uneasy calm, fighting has flared dramatically along the 2,600-kilometre frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan launched overnight airstrikes on Kabul and other cities, declaring what officials described as an “open war” following Taliban attacks on Pakistani border positions.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the country’s patience had “run out” after cross-border assaults. The military announced it had carried out an operation named “Righteous Fury,” claiming it killed more than 130 Taliban fighters and struck military sites in Kabul and Kandahar — the southern city where Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is based.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that Pakistani strikes hit three provinces and said retaliation was under way. Kabul’s Defence Ministry reported that eight Afghan soldiers were killed. Both sides have accused each other of targeting military installations, and reports suggest Pakistani forces have taken control of several border posts.
Deep Roots of a Long-Running Dispute
The latest crisis began when Taliban forces launched what they described as a large-scale offensive along the disputed Durand Line, saying it was in response to earlier Pakistani air raids in eastern Afghan provinces. Islamabad insists those earlier strikes targeted camps belonging to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the regional Islamic State affiliate.
At the core of the conflict is Pakistan’s longstanding accusation that Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers shelter TTP militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Though the Afghan Taliban and TTP are formally separate groups, they share ideological and historical ties.
The TTP, formed in 2007, seeks to topple the Pakistani government and impose its interpretation of Islamic law. It has intensified attacks in recent years, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. Meanwhile, the Durand Line itself remains a sensitive issue, as Afghanistan has never formally recognised the border, arguing it splits the Pashtun population.
Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, cross-border tensions have repeatedly boiled over. A Qatar-brokered ceasefire in late 2025 reduced large-scale clashes but failed to resolve the underlying mistrust.
India Factor Adds Political Dimension
Some analysts believe security concerns are only part of the story. Islamabad has increasingly voiced frustration over what it sees as Kabul’s growing ties with India. Pakistani officials suggest that closer engagement between the Taliban government and New Delhi could further strain regional dynamics.
Khawaja Asif recently accused the Taliban leadership of turning Afghanistan into “a colony of India” instead of addressing regional stability. Pakistan also points to its decades-long hosting of millions of Afghan refugees as evidence of its past support.
Kabul has firmly rejected these claims, saying it seeks constructive relations with all neighbours and denying that Afghan territory is being used against Pakistan. It maintains that Islamabad’s fight with the TTP is an internal matter.
With airstrikes, drone claims, and troop movements already under way, the risk of deeper escalation is real. However, despite the heated rhetoric, both countries face heavy economic and political pressures at home — factors that could still push them back toward negotiation rather than a full-scale war.
