Pakistan now in 'open war' with Afghanistan, defence minister says, after countries trade attacks

Pakistan and Afghanistan traded attacks in a dramatic escalation of tensions between the countries that Pakistan's defence minister said Friday means they are now in "open war."

Late Thursday, Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan, saying it was in retaliation for deadly Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan border areas days earlier.

Pakistan then carried out airstrikes in Kabul and two other Afghan provinces early on Friday.

Afghan authorities in the eastern Nangarhar province said that fighting was ongoing in the Torkham border area Friday morning. The province's information directorate said that Pakistani mortar fire hit civilian areas in Torkham, including a refugee camp, which had been evacuated overnight.

In response, Afghanistan was targeting Pakistani army posts across the border, it said.

Pakistani airstrikes hit 22 ‌Afghan military targets, ​Pakistan's military spokesperson said ​on Friday. At least ⁠12 Pakistani soldiers were ‌killed and 274 Taliban officials and militants ​were killed ⁠since Thursday ⁠night, spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told reporters.

The claims couldn't be independently verified.

Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said in an X post that Pakistan had hoped for peace in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of NATO forces in 2021 and expected the Taliban, which seized power in the country, to focus on the welfare of the Afghan people and regional stability.

Instead, he said the Taliban had turned Afghanistan "into a colony of India," with which Pakistan has periodically engaged in wars, clashes and skirmishes since gaining independence from British colonial rule in 1947. India has had improved ties with Afghanistan recently, offering to enhance bilateral trade, to Pakistan's annoyance.

"Our patience has now run out. Now it is open war between us," he said.

The latest escalation of violence between the neighbouring countries makes a ceasefire from late last year appear increasingly shaky.

Tensions have been high between the neighbours for months, with border clashes in October killing dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants. Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia had facilitated talks between the sides, but they failed to produce a formal agreement and sporadic fire has continued since.

UN Secretary General António Guterres urged both sides to protect civilians as required under international law and "to continue to seek to resolve any differences through diplomacy," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

Iran, a neighbour to both countries, also appealed for calm. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to resolve their differences through dialogue during the holy month of Ramadan. He also said that Tehran was ready to assist in facilitating dialogue.