Pakistan bombs Kabul and declares war on Afghanistan

The Pakistani army bombed targets in Kabul, Paktia, and Kandahar, Afghanistan, early Friday morning. This wave of bombings represents an escalation of the open conflict between the two countries since the Taliban's return to power. According to the Pakistani Prime Minister's spokesman, speaking to the international press, the attacks targeted Afghan military objectives.

For its part, the Taliban regime spokesman claimed that the Pakistani attacks resulted in no casualties. "The cowardly Pakistani army has carried out bombings in some areas of Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia," he said, adding that his country responded to the offensive with "major retaliatory operations against Pakistani military positions in Kandahar and Helmand."

In a message to X, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif asserted that the Pakistanis' "patience" "has run out": "From now on, we are at open war," he declared. Hours after the start of the attack, Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif warned that the country's armed forces have the "full capability to crush any aggressive ambitions" and assured that the armed forces would respond "forcefully" to any incursion.

In the last few hours, Taliban government and Pakistani forces have engaged in intense fighting at several points along the border following the launch of an operation coordinated by Kabul.