Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declared open war on Afghanistan on Feb. 27 2026 after Taliban forces attacked Pakistani border positions the previous night prompting retaliatory airstrikes on Kabul Paktia and Kandahar that Afghan officials said killed at least 19 civilians according to a CNN report. The strikes marked a sharp escalation in the on-off conflict between Islamabad’s nuclear-armed military and the Taliban government with both sides issuing sharply conflicting casualty figures that could not be independently verified in the remote region. A Kabul resident told CNN she was terrified by the overnight explosions and gunfire adding that many families stayed awake with their lights on fearing further attacks.
The violence began late on Feb. 26 when the Taliban military launched assaults on Pakistani positions along the 1 600-mile disputed border a CNN report said. Pakistan responded with Operation Righteous Fury targeting what it described as Afghan defense facilities while a military spokesman reported that forces destroyed 73 Taliban posts and captured more than a dozen others. The operation came days after earlier Pakistani bombings of alleged militant camps in Afghanistan that the Taliban had cited as the reason for its retaliatory actions.
Taliban officials reported that the Pakistani strikes killed 19 civilians and injured 26 others with the majority of victims being women and children according to deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat. Pakistan claimed its military killed 274 Afghan Taliban fighters and injured 400 while Afghanistan said 13 of its soldiers were killed and 22 wounded with its forces destroying 19 Pakistani posts and killing 55 soldiers. CNN noted that the competing tallies from both sides could not be confirmed in the remote border areas where the fighting occurred.
In a post on X Asif wrote that Afghanistan was gathering all the terrorists of the world and exporting terrorism while depriving its own people of human rights adding Our patience has run out. Now it is open war between us and you. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar described the Afghan Taliban as an illegitimate regime that actively sponsors cross-border terrorism institutionalizes slavery and orchestrates the systematic erasure of women and minorities according to the CNN report. Tarar also pointed to thwarted drone attacks by Pakistani Taliban militants as evidence of direct linkages between the Afghan regime and terrorism in Pakistan.
Zabiullah Mujahid the Taliban government spokesman said We have always repeatedly emphasized a peaceful solution and we still want to find a solution through dialogue. The U.S. State Department expressed support for Pakistan’s right to defend itself against the Taliban attacks according to Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker in a social media post. A female resident of Kabul who asked not to be named for safety reasons told CNN she was woken by a loud explosion and saw bullet-like flames going up in the sky adding that she remained awake until 5 a.m. fearing what could happen next.
The clashes follow their deadliest conflict in years last October that ended in a fragile ceasefire CNN reported while noting that Pakistan has accused the Taliban of sheltering Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan militants blamed for a surge in attacks. Pakistani military data shared with CNN placed the number killed in militant attacks across the country in 2025 at more than 1 200 double the figure from 2021 when the Taliban returned to power in Kabul. A United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan report documented 372 civilians killed and 397 injured in cross-border armed violence between January and March 2026.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance 2026 assessment found Pakistan maintains about 660 000 active-duty troops equipped with modern aircraft including U.S.-made F-16s in contrast to the Taliban’s estimated force of fewer than 200 000 that lacks a functional air force and relies on guerrilla tactics. Abdul Basit a senior associate fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies told CNN there are dangerous times ahead warning that any Afghan retaliation would target Pakistan’s urban centers which he described as a recipe for chaos. TTP leader Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud urged his militants to take revenge for Pakistan’s actions according to the report.
