Afghanistan readying suicide battalion as Pakistan declares ‘open war’ after airstrikes on Kabul

Taliban security personnel and residents search for victims after an overnight Pakistani air strike hit a residential area at the Girdi Kas village in Bihsud district, Nangarhar province on February 22, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Pakistan launched airstrikes in Kabul and other Afghan provinces after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani positions, escalating tensions to "open war." Both sides reported heavy casualties, with civilians caught in the crossfire and regional instability rising.

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Pakistan dramatically escalated tensions with Afghanistan early Friday by launching airstrikes in Kabul and at least two other Afghan provinces, effectively declaring what it described as an “open war” against the Taliban government. The strikes came just hours after Afghan forces carried out cross-border attacks on Pakistani military positions, marking one of the most dangerous phases in relations between the two neighbours since 2021.

Citing sources, Pakistan’s state broadcaster said the offensive involved coordinated air and ground assaults targeting Taliban posts, headquarters and ammunition depots across multiple sectors along the border inside Afghanistan. The move signalled Islamabad’s shift from limited retaliation to full-scale confrontation.

According to CNN-News18, Afghan authorities responded by placing forces on high alert. Afghanistan’s Nangarhar-based Bakhtar News Agency released an image of what it described as a battalion of suicide attackers equipped with explosive vests and car bombs, reportedly prepared to strike major targets. The agency quoted Hamdullah Fitrat, deputy spokesperson for the Taliban government, as saying intensive offensive and retaliatory operations were underway along the border.

Pakistan’s rhetoric hardened further. “Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you (Afghanistan),” Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif wrote in a post on X. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared that Pakistani forces would “crush aggressive ambitions”.

Casualty figures released by both sides underscore the scale of the fighting. Pakistan claimed 133 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and more than 200 injured, with 27 posts destroyed and nine captured. The Taliban government countered that 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 19 posts seized. It also reported eight Afghan fighters killed, 11 wounded and 13 civilians injured in Nangarhar.

Islamabad has justified its actions by claiming it targeted camps of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Islamic State militants inside eastern Afghanistan. However, critics argue that Pakistan’s repeated cross-border strikes have widened the conflict and pushed the region closer to prolonged instability, with civilians increasingly caught in the crossfire.