Pakistan And Afghanistan Trade Cross-Border Strikes In Deepening Conflict
Cross-border military strikes between former allies Pakistan and Afghanistan threaten regional stability as repeated diplomatic efforts fail to halt escalating retaliatory violence.
Pakistan bombed several cities across Afghanistan, including the capital, Kabul, in late February after cross-border militant violence flared along the contested frontier. Afghan forces retaliated by launching drones at Pakistani military installations, formalizing a military clash between the two neighboring governments.
The confrontation marks a shift from historical cooperation to armed conflict. For decades, Islamabad maintained close ties with the Afghan Taliban, offering logistical backing and sanctuary before the group returned to power in Kabul in August 2021.
Tensions worsened over the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, an armed group that conducts insurgent attacks inside Pakistan. Islamabad stated that the Pakistani Taliban operates from safe havens inside Afghanistan with the tacit approval of Afghan authorities. The Afghan Taliban rejected the accusation, calling the violence an internal security problem for Pakistan and accusing Islamabad of violating Afghan airspace.
Cross-border attacks intensified following previous rounds of Pakistani aerial operations in border provinces. Pakistani fighter jets hit targets in Kabul, Paktika, and Khost in late 2025 during operations aimed at militant leaders. Afghan border units responded with artillery and ground assaults against Pakistani border posts, prompting temporary ceasefires that quickly collapsed.
The dispute also involves the Durand Line, the 2,640-kilometer international boundary drawn during the British colonial era. Afghanistan has never formally recognized the line, and armed confrontations over Pakistani border fencing have repeatedly broken out since 2021.
Mediation attempts have repeatedly stalled. Diplomats from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey previously hosted talks between the two parties, but negotiated truces failed to stop the cross-border shelling.
Border checkpoints, including the Torkham crossing, remain under heavy disruption as regional mediators seek to establish new communication channels between Islamabad and Kabul.
