 "Taliban soldiers sit next to an anti-aircraft gun while on lookout for Pakistan's fighter jets, in Khost province, Afghanistan, on February 27. The two sides are firing deadly shelling and mortar fire across the border. Reuters")
The United States has extended its support to Pakistan in its right to defend against Afghanistan’s Taliban forces after border clashes intensified on Friday.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely and expressed support for Pakistan’s right to defend itself against Taliban attacks,” Allison Hooker, the under secretary of state for political affairs, wrote on X after talks with a Pakistani counterpart.
She said she expressed to Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch, Pakistan’s senior-most career diplomat, US “condolences for lives lost in the recent conflict between Pakistan and the Taliban.”
Pakistan-Afghanistan border clashes
Pakistan bombed Kabul and other cities in Afghanistan and declared a state of “war” with its neighbour on Friday, following the Taliban’s announcement that it had struck various locations along the border and killed many Pakistani soldiers.
Mosharraf Zaidi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister, said 297 Afghan Taliban and militants had been killed. Afghanistan government spokesman Hamdullayh Fitrat said at least 19 civilians had been killed in Khost and Paktika provinces.
Taliban authorities on Friday claimed they carried out coordinated air strikes targeting Pakistani military facilities, including a site near Islamabad, amid escalating tensions between the two neighbours.
In a statement, the Taliban Defence Ministry said the air force of the Ministry of National Defense conducted strikes at around 11:00 am local time on locations near Faizabad, a military camp in Nowshera, an army base in Jamrud and a military complex in Abbottabad. The ministry described the operation as successful and said key Pakistani military facilities were hit.
World calls for restraint
In response to the sharp surge in hostilities, Britain, the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross called for immediate de-escalation while diplomats in China, Saudi Arabia and Qatar began efforts to calm the tensions.
The operation was Pakistan’s most widespread bombardment of Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and included strikes on their southern power base, Kandahar, as well as the Afghan capital.
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View AllRelations between the neighbours have plunged in recent months, with land border crossings largely shut since deadly fighting in October that killed more than 70 people on both sides.
With inputs from agencies