Pakistan Escalates Conflict With Afghanistan After Taliban Retaliation

The volatile Afghanistan-Pakistan border has erupted once again and this time, the rhetoric is matching the gunfire. Pakistan has declared what it calls an “open war” against the Taliban after days of intense clashes along the Durand Line.

The confrontation marks one of the most dangerous escalations between the two neighbors since the Taliban reclaimed control of Afghanistan in 2021 following the U.S. withdrawal.

Pakistan’s Defense Minister publicly announced that Islamabad’s patience had run out. In a blunt statement, he accused the Taliban of failing to stabilize Afghanistan and instead “exporting terrorism.”

“Our patience has now run out. Now it is open war between us,” he declared.

The Taliban responded with its own claims of large-scale retaliatory strikes against Pakistani military positions. Spokesman described “extensive preemptive operations” along the border, alleging heavy casualties on the Pakistani side.

Reuters reported that fighting between the two sides lasted more than two hours across the roughly 2,600-kilometer (1,615-mile) border one of the most volatile frontiers in the world.

The immediate trigger appears to have been Pakistani airstrikes earlier in the week inside Afghanistan. Taliban officials claimed the strikes killed at least 18 people. Pakistan, however, insisted it targeted militant hideouts and denied hitting civilians.

The Taliban characterized its subsequent actions as retaliation. Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting countered that Taliban forces had opened unprovoked fire in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and that Islamabad responded swiftly.

Security sources in Pakistan reportedly claimed:

• At least 22 Taliban personnel were killed.

• Multiple Taliban posts were destroyed.

• Several quadcopters were shot down.

Taliban officials, meanwhile, asserted that numerous Pakistani soldiers were killed or captured, though those claims remain unverified.

At the core of the dispute is Pakistan’s long-standing accusation that the Taliban is harboring Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants a group responsible for a surge in suicide bombings and attacks within Pakistan. Islamabad says it possesses “irrefutable evidence” that militants are launching attacks from Afghan soil. The Afghan Taliban denies the allegation.

The stakes are high. Pakistan is a nuclear-armed nation of more than 240 million people. Afghanistan remains economically fragile and politically isolated since the U.S. exit. Renewed large-scale conflict could destabilize the broader South Asian region.

The two countries had reportedly agreed to a ceasefire in 2025 after previous fighting. This latest escalation threatens to unravel that fragile arrangement.

Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, Afghanistan has faced severe economic contraction, with its GDP shrinking by more than 20% in the immediate aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal, according to international financial institutions. Meanwhile, Pakistan has grappled with rising terrorism incidents and deep economic turmoil, including inflation that exceeded 25% at points in recent years.

In short, both governments face internal pressures that can quickly spill across borders.

The resurgence of cross-border violence underscores a broader reality: the security vacuum left after the NATO withdrawal did not bring stability to the region.

The United States spent nearly two decades and over $2 trillion in Afghanistan. Yet today, the Taliban controls Kabul, Pakistan alleges cross-border terrorism, and regional tensions are intensifying.

For Pakistan, the claim that the Taliban has failed to rein in militant factions is a direct national security concern. For the Taliban, Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghan territory represent a challenge to its sovereignty.

Now, with both sides trading accusations and casualties, the risk of sustained military confrontation is real.

Whether this “open war” rhetoric translates into prolonged conflict remains uncertain. But one thing is clear: the Afghanistan-Pakistan border is once again a flashpoint and the consequences could reach far beyond the mountains of the Durand Line.

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