Kabul, Mar 2 (.) The latest wave of clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan entered its fifth day todaye, with fighting continuing along the Durand Line and fears growing among civilians on both sides of the frontier.
On the evening of 24 February, Taliban forces launched what they described as large-scale retaliatory attacks on Pakistani border posts and military positions, mainly in eastern and south-eastern Afghanistan.
The Taliban said the operation was carried out in response to Pakistani airstrikes carried out on February 21, which Islamabad said had targeted sanctuaries of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan inside Afghan territory. The United Nations later confirmed that civilians were among those killed in the earlier strikes, deepening anger in affected communities.
Pakistan dismissed the Taliban’s cross-border assaults as ‘unjustified’ and ‘borne of serious miscalculations’, while warning of dire consequences for Kabul and threatened to respond with what it called an immediate and forceful reply.
In the early hours of February 25, Pakistani armed forces launched extensive air operations against Taliban positions inside Afghanistan. Fighter jets and drones were deployed by Pakistan towards military installations stretching from Kabul to Kandahar, the Taliban’s traditional stronghold.
Residents in Kabul reported explosions in the west of the city and in areas including Darulaman and Pul-e-Charkhi, where ammunition depots and Taliban facilities were said to have been hit. Kandahar, home to Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, was also targeted, along with several provinces across the border.
Islamabad named its counteroperation codenname “Ghazb lil Haq” and described it as a direct response to Taliban attacks.
Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Pakistan’s Defence minister, declared what he called an open war against the Taliban, accusing the group of acting as a proxy for India and saying Pakistan’s patience had run out; though both New Delhi and Kabul declined of having any role in Islamabad’s starting of hostilities, noting the attacks to be a distraction to stir away public attention from its domestic woes.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that Pakistani aircraft had bombed sites in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia provinces. The Taliban further said that they had responded with retaliatory operations along Kandahar and Helmand, as well as in the eastern border areas, claiming the seizure and destruction of several Pakistani posts, inflicting heavy losses. At the same time, Taliban officials said they were prepared for negotiations, even as fighting continued.
On February 26, Taliban forces resumed intensified attacks along the frontier, particularly in Khost, Nangarhar, Paktika and Kunar provinces. A Taliban official in Khost said assaults had been launched on Pakistani posts in the districts of Zazi Maidan, Ali Sher and Terezai, claiming that several positions were captured or destroyed.
Pakistan reportedly responded with further air and artillery strikes on Taliban positions near the border, as residents in Nangarhar and around Kabul reported renewed bombardment, though it appeared less intense than the previous day’s operations.
The UN and Russia have urged both sides to implement an immediate ceasefire, exercise restraint and turn to diplomacy, as concerns are mounting over the potential impact on civilians living in border districts already accustomed to insecurity.
In the days that followed, gunfire exchanges and retaliatory strikes continued by both sides.
While Pakistan claimed it had inflicted heavy casualties on Taliban forces and destroyed dozens of their bases, the Taliban made similar claims about losses on Pakistani troops. Due to lack of any independent verification, the credibility of either side is open to question.
On 2 March, residents in Kabul again reported hearing Pakistani aircraft overhead and Taliban forces returning fire.
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