On the morning of February 27, Pakistan struck Afghanistan and declared war on the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan’s defense minister announced an “open war” against the Taliban.
Declaration of war
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif made the announcement on X. He posted the statement after an attack that followed a Taliban assault on Pakistani troops.
Pakistani authorities described their actions as counterstrikes. They said they responded to unprovoked Afghan attacks. The Taliban rejected that claim. They said their actions were a reaction on an earlier strike by Pakistan.
“In the past, Pakistan’s role has been positive. It has hosted 5 million Afghans for 50 years. Even today, millions of Afghans are earning their livelihood on our soil. Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you,” Asif wrote.
He said many expected peace after NATO troops withdrew from Afghanistan. He argued that the Taliban should have focused on the Afghan people and internal stability. Instead, he accused them of turning Afghanistan into a colony of India and gathering “all the terrorists of the world” in the country.
“They deprived their own people of basic human rights. They snatched away the rights that Islam grants to women,” Asif wrote.
He added that Pakistan pursued full diplomacy and made every effort to keep the situation stable.
A Taliban military spokesperson told BBC that the group stands ready to respond. He said that they would strike back if they are attacked. But they were not going to start clashes first.
Previous events
BBC reported that the first alerts appeared on Thursday, February 26. Taliban officials said the offensive began at 8:00 p.m. local time (15:30 GMT).
Pakistan said the Taliban “miscalculated and opened unprovoked fire on multiple locations” across the border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Islamabad’s security forces “immediate and effective response,” officials added.
Later, on the morning of February 27, Pakistan attacked targets in Kabul and in border provinces.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Afghan Taliban, posted on X that the group struck Pakistani army positions in two Afghan provinces on Friday morning. He later deleted the post. The Afghan Taliban said they carried out airstrikes on several targets in Pakistan on Friday morning. A Pakistani army spokesperson said the military hit 22 targets across Afghanistan. He added that the army took “great care” to avoid civilian casualties.
Context
The airstrikes followed months of hostilities. The last major escalation took place in October 2025. After that, the sides agreed to a ceasefire brokered by Turkey and Qatar.
Pakistan accuses the Taliban government of supporting “anti-Pakistan terrorists” who carried out suicide attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban denies this. In turn, the Taliban government accuses Pakistan of unprovoked attacks that kill civilians. Pakistan insists it targets only militants. Earlier this week, Pakistan launched airstrikes on Afghanistan. The Taliban said at least 18 people died in that attack.
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