Pakistan’s defense minister says that there is now ‘open war’ with Afghanistan after latest strikes : NPR

Afghanistan with its capital, Kabul.

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ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s defense minister said his country had run out of “patience” and considered there was now an “open war” with Afghanistan, after both countries launched strikes following an Afghan cross-border attack.

In an article published on Friday, Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said Pakistan hoped for peace in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of NATO forces and expected the Taliban to focus on the welfare of the Afghan people and regional stability. Instead, he claimed, the Taliban turned Afghanistan “into a colony of India,” gathered militants from around the world and began “exporting terrorism.”

“Our patience is now exhausted. It is now an open war between us,” he said. There was no reaction from Afghan government officials to Asif’s comments.

The latest escalation in violence between the neighboring countries makes the Qatar-brokered ceasefire increasingly fragile. The Pakistani Defense Minister did not mention the ceasefire.

Asif also accused the Taliban government of denying Afghans basic human rights, including women’s rights that he said are guaranteed by Islam, without providing details.

He said Pakistan had tried to maintain stability both directly and through friendly countries.

“Today, when attempts have been made to target Pakistan with aggression, by the grace of God, our armed forces are giving a decisive response,” he said.

Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan on Thursday in retaliation for deadly Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan border areas on Sunday.

On Friday morning, Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Kabul and two other Afghan provinces. At least three explosions were heard in Kabul, but no information was immediately available on the exact location of the strikes in the Afghan capital, nor on possible victims.

Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistan also carried out airstrikes in Kandahar in the south and in the southeastern province of Paktia.

In his message, Asif also said that Pakistan has played a positive role over the past five decades, hosting around 5 million Afghan refugees. He added that millions of Afghans continue to earn their living in the country.

Pakistan launched a sweeping crackdown in October 2023 to expel undocumented migrants, urging those in the country to leave of their own accord to avoid being arrested and forcibly deported and to expel others. Iran also launched a crackdown on migrants around the same time.

Since then, millions of people have crossed the Afghan border, including people born in Pakistan decades ago and who built lives and businesses there.

Last year alone, 2.9 million people returned to Afghanistan, the United Nations refugee agency said, and nearly 80,000 of them have returned so far this year.