ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif declared “open war” against Afghanistan’s Taliban interim government on Friday after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops late Thursday.
“Our patience has reached its limit. Now it is open war between you and us,” Asif wrote on X.
Pakistan said it carried out cross-border strikes inside Afghanistan early Friday, killing 133 Taliban fighters, wounding more than 200, destroying 27 border posts, and capturing nine others after what it described as unprovoked attacks along the Pakistan–Afghanistan frontier.
The operation, named Operation Ghazab Lil Haq, targeted Taliban military infrastructure across multiple provinces. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes destroyed two Taliban corps headquarters, several brigade and battalion command centers, ammunition depots, and logistics bases.
Officials said more than 80 tanks, artillery systems, and armored vehicles were destroyed in the operation, calling it a major blow to Taliban military capability.
Taliban government spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid acknowledged on X that airstrikes had taken place in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktika.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities of failing to act against militant groups operating from Afghan soil that carry out attacks inside Pakistan.
“Afghan Taliban defence targets were targeted in Kabul, Paktia (province) and Kandahar,” Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar posted on X. At the same time, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif declared an “all-out confrontation” with the Taliban government.
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif:
After NATO forces withdrew, it was expected that peace would prevail in Afghanistan and that the Taliban would focus on the interests of the Afghan people and regional stability.
However, the Taliban turned Afghanistan into a colony of… pic.twitter.com/WLTEpExV08
— Clash Report (@clashreport) February 26, 2026
“Our patience has reached its limit. Now it is open war between you and us,” he posted on the social media platform.
Khawaja Asif said that after NATO forces withdrew from Afghanistan, there were expectations that peace would prevail and that the Taliban would focus on the welfare of the Afghan people and regional stability.
“Instead, the Taliban turned Afghanistan into a colony of India,” Asif wrote. “They gathered terrorists from around the world in Afghanistan and began exporting terrorism.”
He accused the Taliban government of depriving its own citizens of fundamental human rights and stripping women of rights granted under Islam.
“Pakistan made every effort — directly and through friendly countries — to keep the situation stable. We carried out extensive diplomacy. But the Taliban became a proxy of India,” he said.
Asif said Pakistan’s patience had run out.
“Our patience has reached its limit. Now it is open war between you and us,” he wrote. “When Pakistan is targeted with aggression, our armed forces are giving a decisive response.”
Highlighting Pakistan’s historical role, he added, “For 50 years, we hosted five million Afghans. Even today, hundreds of thousands of Afghans earn their livelihood on our soil.”
“Pakistan’s army has not come from across the seas — we are your neighbors, and we know your reality well,” he said.
He said Pakistan had made sustained diplomatic efforts — both directly and through friendly countries — to maintain stability in the region, but claimed those efforts were met with hostility.
“Today, when attempts are being made to target Pakistan with aggression, by the grace of God, our armed forces are giving a decisive response,” he said.
Islamabad said the operation underscores Pakistan’s resolve to defend its sovereignty and respond firmly to any aggression originating from across the border.
Afghanistan’s Taliban government spokesperson, Zabiullah Mujahid, acknowledged in a post on X that airstrikes had taken place in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktika.
Officials in Islamabad described the military action as a precise and proportionate response aimed at dismantling infrastructure used to launch attacks against Pakistan along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border.
The latest escalation follows repeated tensions along the frontier, with Pakistan maintaining that it will take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against cross-border aggression.
