Pakistan and Afghanistan at War: What We Know

Pakistan said it is now in “open war” with its neighbor Afghanistan after months of escalating clashes and tensions over militant groups.

“Our patience has now run out. Now it is an open war between us and you,” Pakistan’s defense minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif wrote in a post on X, originally in Urdu.

“Now it will be full confrontation. Pakistan’s army has not come from across the seas. We are your neighbors and we know your reality.”

Qatar had brokered a ceasefire between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban in October after repeated military clashes between the two sides.

But a cross-border attack by Afghan forces on Thursday was followed by Pakistani air strikes on Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia.

Afghanistan’s defense ministry had accused Pakistan’s military of violating its territory and airspace in an attack that killed civilians.

Islamabad accuses the Taliban of harboring militants who launch attacks in Pakistan. The Taliban denies this.

This is a developing article. Updates to follow. 

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