Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif says can 'crush aggressive ambitions' as clashes with Afghanistan escalate

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday said his country’s armed forces can “crush” aggressors, hours after Islamabad struck targets inside Afghanistan's major cities overnight.

“Our forces have the full capability to crush any aggressive ambitions,” Sharif said, according to the Pakistani government’s X page. “The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the Pakistan armed forces,” he said.

Cross-border clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan escalated sharply on Friday, with Islamabad declaring "open war" on Kabul after carrying out airstrikes in parts of Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia, further intensifying tensions between the two neighbouring countries.

In a post on X, Pakistan's defence minister, Khawaja Asif, issued a strong statement declaring the "open war" against Afghanistan, stating that Islamabad has lost its patience and accusing the Taliban-led administration of harbouring militants.

"After the withdrawal of NATO forces, it was expected that there would be peace in Afghanistan and that the Taliban would focus on the interests of the Afghan people and peace in the region...They gathered all the terrorists of the world in Afghanistan and began exporting terrorism. They deprived their own people of basic human rights. They snatched away the rights that Islam grants to women," his post read.

"Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you. Now it will be 'Dama Dam Mast Qalandar'. Pakistan's army did not come from across the seas. We are your neighbours; we know your ins and outs. Allahu Akbar," the Pakistani defence minister added.

Spokesperson of Pakistani government, Mosharraf Zaidi, alleged that 133 Afghan Taliban fighters have been killed and over 200 wounded, with 27 Taliban posts destroyed and nine captured.

Pakistan's latest operation came after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops on Thursday night over earlier air strikes by Islamabad.