Pakistan-Afghanistan Conflict Escalates to 'Open War' With Airstrikes on Kabul and Border Battles
Military conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan escalated dramatically on February 26-27, 2026, after Afghanistan's Taliban government launched a retaliatory ground offensive along the Durand Line, claiming to capture over a dozen Pakistani military posts. Pakistan responded with airstrikes on Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia, with Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declaring 'open war' on the Taliban government. Both sides reported wildly divergent casualty figures, with Pakistan claiming over 130 Afghan fighters killed and Afghanistan claiming 55 Pakistani soldiers dead. Fighting continued on February 27 with Afghan air strikes targeting Pakistani military bases deep inside the country, including a claimed strike on a nuclear facility near Abbottabad.
Coverage of the Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict reveals a war fought as much through competing casualty claims as through actual combat: Pakistan says it killed 133-274 Afghan fighters while Afghanistan acknowledges just 8 dead, a divergence that persists unresolved across three developments and 48 hours of fighting. Western outlets published original reporting only during the 'open war' declaration, providing satellite verification and UN intelligence context entirely absent from Russian-language coverage, which dominated the other three developments — including the most consequential claim, a strike on a Pakistani nuclear facility, that propagated through five agencies before a single one questioned whether Afghanistan even has aircraft capable of reaching the target. Most striking is TASS's trajectory: from carefully attributing claims to each side in the first development to presenting contested casualty figures as established facts by the third. Meanwhile, Russia positioned itself simultaneously as neutral mediator and geopolitical commentator, with its Security Council blaming British colonial border-drawing as the root cause — a framing no Western or Ukrainian source touched.
Developments
On the evening of February 26, Afghanistan's Taliban government launched what it called a retaliatory military operation against Pakistani positions along the disputed Durand Line border, in response to Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan territory on February 21. Fighting was reported in six border provinces: Nangarhar, Nuristan, Kunar, Khost, Paktia, and Paktika. Afghan forces claimed to have captured up to 15 Pakistani border posts and killed approximately 40 Pakistani soldiers, while Pakistan reported an 'effective response' and claimed heavy Afghan casualties, with conflicting reports citing 22-30 Afghan fighters killed.
Pakistan dramatically escalated the conflict on the night of February 26-27, launching airstrikes on military targets in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia province. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declared 'open war' on the Taliban government, accusing Kabul of turning Afghanistan into 'a colony of India' and harboring terrorists. Pakistan launched Operation 'Ghazab Lil Haq' ('Righteous Fury'), claiming to have killed 133 Afghan fighters, destroyed 27 border posts, and struck multiple brigade and corps headquarters. Afghanistan's Defense Ministry reported far lower losses of 8 dead and 11 wounded, while claiming 55 Pakistani soldiers killed and the capture of 2 bases and 19 posts. Afghan media reported that a Pakistani military aircraft was shot down in Afghan airspace. Afghanistan subsequently declared its retaliatory operation complete, though fighting continued.
Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova expressed concern over the sharp escalation, calling on both sides to return to negotiations, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow hoped for a swift end to the conflict. Russia's Security Council blamed British colonial-era border policies for the underlying tensions. Political analyst Ivan Mezyukho assessed the conflict as permanent and cyclical since the Taliban's return to power, noting that Iran and Qatar would likely work to freeze the hostilities. He expressed doubt that either side could achieve total victory, predicting another temporary ceasefire.
On the morning of February 27, despite having earlier declared its retaliatory operation complete, Afghanistan resumed hostilities with air and artillery strikes deep into Pakistani territory. The Afghan Defense Ministry announced strikes on military targets in Abbottabad, Jamrud, Naushera, and near Faisalabad. Afghan TV channel Ariana News reported a strike on a 'nuclear facility' near Abbottabad, claiming hundreds of casualties were taken to hospitals in Islamabad, though independent confirmation was unavailable and analysts noted Afghanistan's limited air capabilities. Afghan Chief of Staff Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat warned that Afghan forces had the capability to make Islamabad itself 'unsafe.' Pakistan simultaneously continued strikes on Afghan provinces Khost, Nangarhar, and Paktia.