Afghanistan and Pakistan are fighting again, trading deadly shelling and mortar fire across their rugged border, with Pakistan’s defense minister saying his country’s patience had “run out” and declaring “open war” on its Taliban-run neighbor.

Pakistan and Afghanistan traded attacks in a dramatic escalation of tensions between the countries that Pakistan's defence minister said Friday means they are now in "open war."

Pakistan has been the Afghan Taliban’s closest friend for decades. It was Islamabad that helped give birth to the Taliban in the early 1990s – as a way to give Pakistan "strategic depth" in its rivalry with India.

Pakistan must beat already-eliminated Sri Lanka by a handsome margin if they are to progress to T20 World Cup semifinal.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in posts on X that multiple Pakistani troops were killed and others taken prisoner late on Thursday after Afghanistan launched attacks in response to last

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have plunged in recent months. Land border crossings have been largely shut since deadly fighting in October that killed more than 70 people on both sides, before a fragile ceasefire was put in place. It was the worst fighting between the two countries since the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021.

Pakistan’s long-standing strategy of using militant proxies and political manipulation in Afghanistan has unravelled. Under Asim Munir’s watch, coercion appears to have replaced diplomacy.

Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan reached a dangerous new peak in the early hours of Friday, February 27, 2026. Pakistani forces launched direct strikes on the Afghan cities of Kabul and Kandahar.