Airstrikes strike Kabul hours after Afghanistan launches attack on Pakistan

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said the country’s armed forces are capable of “crushing” any aggressor, following airstrikes on neighboring Afghanistan.

“Our forces have the full capability to crush any aggressive ambitions,” Sharif said in a statement shared on the Pakistani government’s X account. “The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the Pakistan armed forces.”

Earlier, Afghanistan’s government confirmed that Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Kabul and two other provinces, marking a sharp escalation in tensions that has cast doubt on a fragile Qatar-mediated ceasefire between the two sides.

Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said at least three explosions were heard in Kabul early Friday, though there was no immediate information on casualties or the exact locations hit in the capital. He added that strikes were also carried out in Kandahar in the south and in the southeastern province of Paktia.

Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif confirmed the action in a post on X, declaring what he described as “open war” with Afghanistan’s Taliban government. “Our patience has reached its limit. Now it is open war between us and you,” he wrote.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi called the strikes a “befitting response,” saying they came after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops in retaliation for earlier Pakistani air operations.

Two senior Pakistani security officials told The Associated Press that the military targeted what they described as Afghan military facilities in Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia, alleging that two brigade bases were destroyed. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Afghanistan said its military launched cross-border attacks late Thursday in response to deadly Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan border areas earlier in the week, and claimed to have captured more than a dozen Pakistani army posts. Islamabad rejected those claims, describing the Afghan action as unprovoked and denying that any posts had been seized.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged both sides to protect civilians and resolve their differences through diplomacy, according to UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

Differing casualty claims

The two governments reported sharply different casualty figures.

Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed and several captured, while eight Afghan troops were killed and 11 wounded. It also claimed to have destroyed 19 Pakistani army posts and two bases.

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said only two Pakistani soldiers were killed and three wounded, while 36 Afghan fighters died.

Mosharraf Ali Zaidi, spokesperson for Sharif, denied that any Pakistani soldiers were captured and later claimed that at least 133 Afghan fighters were killed and more than 200 wounded. He also alleged that 27 Afghan posts were destroyed and nine fighters captured.

Refugee camp affected

Both sides reported exchanges of fire near the Torkham border crossing. Afghan officials said a missile strike hit a refugee camp in the area, wounding 13 civilians, including women and children. Authorities began evacuating the camp.

On the Pakistani side, police said residents of nearby villages were moving to safer locations after mortars allegedly fired from Afghanistan landed in the area. No civilian casualties were reported there.

“Pakistan will take all necessary measures to ensure its territorial integrity and the safety and security of its citizens,” the country’s Information Ministry said.

Long-running tensions

The escalation follows months of heightened tensions along the 2,611-kilometer (1,622-mile) border known as the Durand Line, which Afghanistan has not formally recognized. Previous clashes and airstrikes have undermined efforts at dialogue, despite mediation efforts by Qatar.

Militant violence has surged in Pakistan in recent years, with Islamabad accusing the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and Baloch separatist groups of operating from Afghan territory — a charge denied by both the TTP and Kabul.