Pakistan’s defense minister said the country has run out of patience and characterized relations with Afghanistan as an open war after a series of cross-border attacks and airstrikes.
In a post on X, Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said Islamabad had hoped for peace in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of NATO forces and expected the Taliban to focus on Afghan welfare and regional stability. He accused the Taliban of turning Afghanistan into a proxy for India, gathering militants from abroad and exporting terrorism. He added that Pakistan’s patience had ended and that its armed forces were now responding decisively to aggression.
There was no immediate public response from Afghan government officials to Asif’s remarks. The latest exchanges also put pressure on a Qatar-mediated ceasefire, which Asif did not mention in his post. He further accused the Taliban government of denying Afghans basic rights, including rights for women that he said are guaranteed under Islam, without offering specific details.
The flare-up followed a cross-border attack by Afghan forces on Thursday, which Kabul said was in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan border areas the previous Sunday. Early Friday, Pakistan conducted airstrikes in Kabul and in two other provinces. At least three explosions were heard in Kabul, though officials had not provided precise locations or confirmed casualties at the time. Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said strikes also hit Kandahar and Paktia provinces.
Asif emphasized Pakistan’s long history of hosting Afghans, saying the country has provided refuge to about 5 million Afghan refugees over the past five decades and that millions of Afghans still earn their livelihoods in Pakistan. In October 2023, Pakistan launched a crackdown on undocumented migrants, urging voluntary departures and carrying out expulsions; Iran implemented a similar operation around the same time.
The migration moves prompted large numbers to cross back into Afghanistan, including people born in Pakistan who had established lives and businesses there. According to the U.N. refugee agency, 2.9 million people returned to Afghanistan last year, and nearly 80,000 have returned so far this year.
The rapid escalation in strikes and retaliatory attacks has raised concerns about further destabilization in the region and the durability of recent ceasefire efforts.