Either side report heavy losses within the combating, which Pakistan’s protection minister says amounted to an ‘open struggle’
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan carried out air strikes on Afghanistan‘s main cities in a single day, officers in Islamabad and Kabul stated on Friday, February 27, escalating months of border clashes between the Islamic neighbors.
The air and floor strikes, which hit Taliban navy posts, headquarters and ammunition depots in a number of sectors alongside the border, got here after Afghanistan launched an assault on Pakistani border forces, the officers stated.
Either side reported heavy losses within the combating, which Pakistan’s protection minister stated amounted to an “open struggle.“
Tensions have heated up since Pakistan launched air strikes on militant targets in Afghanistan final weekend.
Earlier, border clashes between the 2 international locations killed dozens of troopers in October till negotiations facilitated by Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia ceased the hostilities and a fragile ceasefire was put in place.
Why are the neighbors at odds?
Pakistan welcomed the return to energy of the Taliban in 2021, with then-prime minister Imran Khan saying that Afghans had “damaged the shackles of slavery.”
However Islamabad quickly discovered that the Taliban weren’t as cooperative because it had hoped.
Islamabad says that the management of militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and lots of of its fighters are primarily based in Afghanistan, and that armed insurgents looking for independence for the southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan additionally use Afghanistan as a protected haven.
Militancy has elevated yearly since 2022 with assaults by the TTP and Baloch insurgents rising, in line with Armed Battle Location & Occasion Information, a world monitoring group.
Kabul for its half has repeatedly denied permitting militants to make use of Afghan territory to launch assaults in Pakistan.
The Afghan Taliban say Pakistan harbours fighters from its enemy, Islamic State, a cost Islamabad denies.
Islamabad says the ceasefire didn’t maintain lengthy as a result of continued militant assaults in Pakistan from Afghanistan, and there have been repeated clashes and border closures since then which have disrupted commerce and motion alongside the rugged frontier.
What sparked the most recent clashes?
The day earlier than final weekend’s strikes, Pakistani safety sources stated they’d “irrefutable proof” that militants in Afghanistan had been behind a latest wave of assaults and suicide bombings which focused Pakistani navy and police.
The sources listed seven deliberate or profitable assaults by militants since late 2024 that they stated had been linked to Afghanistan.
One assault final week that killed 11 safety personnel and two civilians in Bajaur district was undertaken by an Afghan nationwide, in line with Pakistani safety sources. This assault was claimed by the TTP.
Who’re the Pakistani Taliban?
The TTP was fashioned in 2007 by a number of militant outfits energetic in northwest Pakistan. It’s generally often called the Pakistani Taliban.
The TTP has attacked markets, mosques, airports, navy bases, police stations and in addition gained territory — largely alongside the border with Afghanistan, but in addition deep inside Pakistan, together with the Swat Valley. The group was behind the 2012 assault onthen schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who obtained the Nobel Peace Prize two years later.
The TTP additionally fought alongside the Afghan Taliban towards US-led forces in Afghanistan and hosted Afghan fighters in Pakistan. Pakistan has launched navy operations towards the TTP by itself soil with restricted success, though an offensive that resulted in 2016 drastically decreased assaults until a couple of years in the past.
What occurs subsequent?
Pakistan is more likely to intensify its navy marketing campaign, analysts say, whereas Kabul’s retaliation might are available the best way of raids on border posts and extra cross-border guerrilla assaults to focus on safety forces.
On paper, there’s a extensive mismatch between the navy capabilities of two sides. At 172,000, the Taliban have lower than a 3rd of Pakistan’s personnel.
The Taliban do possess at the least six plane and 23 helicopters however their situation is unknown and so they don’t have any fighter jets or efficient air pressure.
Pakistan’s armed forces embody greater than 600,000 energetic personnel, have greater than 6,000 armored combating autos and greater than 400 fight plane, in line with 2025 information from the Worldwide Institute for Strategic Research. The nation can be nuclear armed. – Rappler.com
