Pakistan is in 'open war' with Afghanistan, its defense minister says

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Pakistan and Afghanistan traded cross-border attacks overnight, government officials from both countries confirmed to NBC News on Friday, alleging heavy losses on both sides as Pakistan’s defense minister declared “open war” between the two South Asian nations

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Pakistan and Afghanistan traded cross-border attacks overnight, government officials from both countries confirmed to NBC News on Friday, alleging heavy losses on both sides as Pakistan’s defense minister declared “open war” between the two South Asian nations.

Tensions between the two countries, which share a 1,600-mile border, have been simmering for months as they struggle to maintain a Qatar-mediated ceasefire they reached in October, with occasional cross-border skirmishes. Pakistan, which is struggling with a surge in militant attacks since the United States withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, says the attackers are using Afghanistan as a base.

The Taliban, which returned to power with the U.S. withdrawal, denies harboring militants.

The fighting threatens to further destabilize a region where terrorist groups such as the Islamic State and Al Qaeda are trying to remobilize.

The latest violence began Thursday night when the Taliban launched what it called retaliatory attacks on military installations in northwest Pakistan. Residents and government and military officials in Pakistan’s border areas said heavy fighting started around 8 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET), causing panic among residents.