Pakistan-Afghanistan war shows no signs of ending, dozens killed

As the world’s attention is fixed on the American-Israeli war on Iran, another war is raging, but getting much less attention: the war between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

At the center of the conflict is Pakistan’s accusation that the Afghan Taliban is providing safe havens for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (commonly known as the Pakistani Taliban) to launch attacks from its soil. Triggering this war was a jihad suicide bombing at a Shia mosque in Islamabad, “alongside attacks in Bajaur and Bannu,” which “prompted Islamabad to launch what it described as intelligence-based strikes on Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) targets inside eastern Afghanistan.”

Afghanistan condemned the attacks as a violation of its sovereignty; Taliban forces “initiated cross-border operations against Pakistani military positions.” When Afghan forces opened fire across the border into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Thursday, 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed, and two bases and 19 posts captured.

Pakistan in turn broadened its campaign, calling it Operation Ghazab Lil Haq, that is, Operation Righteous Fury. And the war was on.

Pakistan’s defense minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif stated:

Pakistan made every effort to keep the situation normal through direct means and through friendly countries. It engaged in full-fledged diplomacy… 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.

Afghanistan says it responded to counter the attack with “anti-aircraft and missile defence systems,” and thwarted Pakistan’s attempted airstrikes on the former U.S. Bagram airbase.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar are among the countries in the region which have been trying to negotiate an end to the war.

A major shift is taking place in both South Asia and the Middle East, and Muslim-on-Muslim fighting has entered a new level: the Gulf States vs. Iran, and Pakistan vs. Afghanistan. The greatest risk is who or what jihad force will exploit this instability, as both the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic State (ISIS) did in past.

“Pakistan, Afghanistan show no signs of stepping back as fighting enters fifth day,” by Mohammad Yunus Yawar and Asif Shahzad, Reuters, March 2, 2026:

KABUL/ISLAMABAD, March 2 (Reuters) – Afghanistan and Pakistan said on Monday that their militaries had targeted each other’s posts across the border as their fighting entered a ​fifth day, fuelling instability in a region rocked by U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation.

The intensity of the clashes, however, appeared ‌to be lower than when it began although there were no signs that the allies-turned-foes were seeking to step back and make peace.

The direct fighting between the South Asian neighbours who share a 2,600-km (1,615-mile) border is the heaviest in years.

It began when Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers launched what they called retaliatory strikes on Pakistani installations in response to Pakistan’s targetting of militants in Afghanistan.
Dozens ​of people were killed on both sides as Pakistan used jets to launch air-to-ground missiles at Taliban military sites and even directly ​targeted Afghanistan’s government for the first time over allegations it harbours militants seeking to overthrow the Islamabad government.

BAGRAM AIR BASE ⁠TARGETED

On Monday, the Taliban defence ministry said that Afghan forces targeted and destroyed a Pakistani military armoured tank on the frontier in Paktika province after it had ​fired shells indiscriminately toward Afghanistan.

Defence ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khowarazmi said that Afghan forces had killed more than 100 enemy personnel and captured more than 25 Pakistani ​military posts so far.
In a statement directed at the people of Afghanistan, Khowarazmi said that “sometimes the enemy’s aircraft pass through our airspace” and Taliban fighters fire air defence weapons to repel enemy attacks.
“Do not be concerned, they are your own sons. Be confident and trust your sons,” he said, referring to the Taliban fighters.
Afghan police said late on Sunday ​that Pakistani jets had tried to bomb Bagram air base outside Kabul and were repelled by Russian-made ZU-23 anti-aircraft guns. There were no casualties ​or financial losses, they said….