KABUL, Afghanistan: Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Kabul and two other Afghan provinces early Friday, Afghanistan’s government spokesperson said, hours after Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan in the latest escalation of violence between the neighboring countries that made a Qatar-mediated ceasefire appear increasingly shaky.
At least three explosions were heard in Kabul, but there was no immediate information on the exact location of the strikes in the Afghan capital, or of any potential casualties. Government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistan also carried out airstrikes in Kandahar to the south and in the southeastern province of Paktia.
Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, in a post on X, declared “open war” on the Taliban government. “Our patience has reached its limit. Now it is open war between us and you,” he wrote.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the strikes on Afghanistan were a “befitting response,” as blasts and gunfire rang out in the cities of Kabul and Kandahar.
“Pakistan’s armed forces have given a befitting response to the Afghan Taliban’s open aggression,” said Naqvi, hours after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops in what the Taliban government said was retaliation for earlier deadly air strikes.
