Pakistan Is In ‘Open War’ With Afghanistan After Latest Strikes, Defense Minister Says

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Mutual attacks took place between Pakistan and Afghanistan Dramatic escalation of tension It means the countries are now in “open war,” as Pakistan’s defense minister said on Friday.

tensions was high among neighbors for months Border clashes in October Dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants were killed. Pakistan accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of harboring militant groups that subsequently launched cross-border attacks and also of allying with arch-rival India.

A. Qatar-brokered ceasefire It ended the conflict, but the two sides still exchange occasional fire. Several peace talks held in Istanbul in November failed to reach a formal agreement.

Late Thursday, Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan, saying it was in retaliation for deadly attacks. Air strike from Pakistan to Afghanistan border areas Sunday.

Pakistan then launched airstrikes in Kabul and two other Afghan provinces early Friday.

Following Friday’s attacks, Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said in the

Instead, he said, the Taliban had turned Afghanistan into “a colony of India”, with which Pakistan has periodically engaged in wars, skirmishes and skirmishes since its independence from British colonial rule in 1947. India has recently offered to improve bilateral trade by improving relations with Afghanistan, much to the irritation of Islamabad.

“We have now run out of patience. There is now an open war between us,” he said. There was no reaction from Afghan officials.

Afghan officials in eastern Nangarhar province said clashes continued in the Torkham border area on Friday morning. The province’s information directorate said Pakistani mortar fire hit civilian areas in Torkham, including a refugee camp that was evacuated overnight. It was stated that Afghanistan, in response, targeted Pakistani army outposts on the border.

Pakistani defense minister Asif accused Afghanistan of “exporting terrorism”. Islamabad frequently raises allegations against its western neighbor. Militant violence increased in PakistanHe accused Afghanistan of supporting the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and outlawed Baloch separatist groups.

Pakistan accuses the TTP, which is separate from but closely allied with the Taliban in Afghanistan, of operating from within Afghanistan. Both the group and Kabul deny this accusation.

Pakistan also frequently accuses neighboring India of supporting the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army and the Pakistani Taliban, allegations that New Delhi denies.

Asif’s comments came hours after Pakistan carried out airstrikes on Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, as well as Kandahar in the south and Paktia province in the southeast, according to Pakistani officials and Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. Pakistan said the attacks were in retaliation for Afghan cross-border attacks.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan said late Thursday it had launched its attack in retaliation. Air strike from Pakistan to Afghanistan border areas Sunday.

Governments have issued widely differing claims of losses. While each said the other had inflicted heavy casualties on dozens of soldiers, they also put their own casualty figures at single digits. The allegations could not be independently verified.

Afghanistan also claimed to have captured an undisclosed number of Pakistani soldiers. Mosharraf Ali Zaidi, spokesman for Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, denied that any soldiers had been captured.

Pakistan’s anti-drone systems shot down several small drones over the northwestern cities of Abbottabad, Swabi and Nowshera on Friday, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said. He said the drones appeared to be part of a failed attack by the Pakistani Taliban and that there were no casualties. Tarar claimed that the drone strikes “once again reveal direct links between the Afghan Taliban regime and terrorism in Pakistan.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had separate phone calls with his Pakistani, Afghan, Qatari and Saudi counterparts on Friday to discuss the conflict, a Turkish official said, without giving details of the talks. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government policy.

In October, Türkiye, Qatar and Saudi Arabia facilitated the talks between the parties.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called on both sides to protect civilians as required by international law and “continue to seek to resolve any differences through diplomacy,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

Russian diplomat Zamir Kabulov told the Ria Novosti news agency that Russia called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a diplomatic solution to the conflict. According to Ria Novosti, President Vladimir Putin’s special representative for Afghanistan Kabulov said that Moscow would consider mediating between the two countries if requested.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has called on Pakistan and Afghanistan to resolve their differences through dialogue during the holy month of Ramadan. He also said Tehran was ready to help facilitate dialogue.

Pakistani officials say dozens of people Afghan refugees at the Torkham border The area was moved to safer places.

Pakistan launched a massive crackdown Deporting immigrants without documents in October 2023 calls on those in the country to leave of their own accord to avoid arrest and forcible deportation of others. Around the same time, Iran began cracking down on immigrants.

Millions of people have crossed the Afghan border since then. people born in Pakistan he had built lives and established businesses there decades ago.

2.9 million people last year alone returned to AfghanistanThe UN High Commissioner for Refugees said about 80,000 people have returned so far this year.

Abdul Qahar Afghan reported from Kabul, Afghanistan. Associated Press writers Riaz Khan and Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, Eduardo Castillo in Beijing, Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Türkiye, also contributed to this story.