The Pakistani government announced it had bombed Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, in the early hours of this Friday and declared it was entering an "open war" with its neighbor, an escalation of the conflict that has become the most serious incident between the two countries since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Mosharraf Zaidi, the Prime Minister of Pakistan's spokesperson for foreign media, reported that Pakistani counter-attacks reached "military targets" in Kabul, Paktia, and Kandahar. In turn, the main Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, confirmed the attacks on the capital and stated there were no casualties: "The cowardly Pakistani army has carried out bombings in some areas of Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia," he wrote on X. Mujahid added that Afghanistan conducted "important retaliatory operations against Pakistani military positions in Kandahar and Helmand".
Fighting on the Durand Line Taliban government forces and Pakistani forces have been engaged in intense nighttime fighting at several border points since Thursday, following a launch of a coordinated operation by Kabul along the so-called Durand Line. This operation came five days after a series of Pakistani airstrikes. According to Zaidi, Pakistani attacks have resulted in the deaths of 133 Taliban and over 200 injured.
