{"id":34410,"date":"2026-02-28T05:11:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T03:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/?p=34410"},"modified":"2026-02-28T05:45:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T03:45:55","slug":"afghan-taliban-open-to-talks-after-pakistan-launches-airstrikes-in-afghanistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/afghan-taliban-open-to-talks-after-pakistan-launches-airstrikes-in-afghanistan\/","title":{"rendered":"Afghan Taliban open to talks after Pakistan launches airstrikes in Afghanistan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

7 minute read<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Afghan Taliban said that the group is open to talks with Islamabad after the Pakistan Army launched airstrikes targeting locations in Kabul and multiple Afghan provinces, marking a dramatic escalation in tensions along the disputed Durand Line border.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan and Afghanistan entered one of their most serious military confrontations on February 27, 2026. Pakistan\u2019s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declared on Friday that Islamabad\u2019s patience with Afghanistan\u2019s Taliban authorities had ended, stating that the situation had now reached the level of \u201copen war\u201d between the two neighboring countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The announcement followed reports from Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid that Afghan forces had begun what he described as \u201clarge-scale offensive operations\u201d against Pakistani military positions along the frontier separating the two states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rapid escalation comes after weeks of mounting clashes, cross-border shelling, and retaliatory attacks that have pushed relations between Islamabad and Kabul to their lowest point since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Air Strikes and Military Operations<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pakistani officials said Afghan forces attacked military installations near the border early Friday, prompting Pakistan to launch retaliatory air strikes inside Afghanistan. The first strike reportedly occurred around 1:50 AM local time, with Afghan air defense systems responding shortly afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan\u2019s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes targeted what he described as \u201cAfghan Taliban defense targets\u201d in Kabul, southeastern Paktia province, and southern Kandahar. Afghan authorities later confirmed that these regions had been hit.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Smoke<\/a>
Smoke rises following Pakistani strikes, in Kabul, Afghanistan, in this still image taken from video released on February 27, 2026. (Image Credit: Pakistan Army\/via Reuters\/IRIA screengrab)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

According to local sources inside Kabul, Pakistani airstrikes targeted an ammunition depot in Kabul, triggering secondary explosions as stored ordnance continued to detonate after the initial strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security officials cited in international reporting said at least two Afghan brigade bases were destroyed during the operation. Pakistani state media claimed that several Taliban military facilities, including a brigade headquarters and ammunition depot in Kandahar, were eliminated within hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional fighting was reported near the strategically vital Torkham border crossing, where shelling and gunfire were heard as Afghan forces moved toward the frontier. The crossing, a key commercial and migration route, has remained partially operational despite repeated closures caused by earlier clashes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan also stated that Afghan Taliban positions were being engaged in several districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, including Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram, and Bajaur, indicating that hostilities were unfolding simultaneously on both sides of the border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Conflicting Casualty Claims<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Casualty figures remain disputed, with both governments presenting sharply different accounts. Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesperson for Pakistan\u2019s prime minister, said Pakistani operations killed 133 Afghan Taliban fighters and wounded more than 200 others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that 27 Taliban posts were destroyed and nine captured, while more than 80 military vehicles and artillery systems were eliminated. Pakistani media reported that two Pakistani soldiers were killed during the clashes.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Afghan<\/a>
Afghan Taliban soldiers carry a box containing weapons, following exchanges of fire between Pakistan and Afghanistan forces, near the Torkham border in Afghanistan, on February 27, 2026. (Image Credit: Reuters)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Taliban authorities rejected Pakistan\u2019s claims, stating that only eight fighters were killed and 11 were wounded. Afghan officials, known for exaggerating claims, instead asserted that their forces had killed 55 Pakistani soldiers and seized two military bases and 19 posts along the border, claims Islamabad has dismissed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The violence follows Pakistani air strikes conducted days earlier, which Islamabad said killed at least 70 militants. Taliban officials countered that the attacks caused civilian casualties, including women and children. Local Afghan Red Crescent officials in Nangarhar reported at least 18 deaths from those earlier strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Roots of the Conflict<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest confrontation reflects long-standing disputes intensified since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Central to tensions is the Durand Line, a 2,611-kilometre border drawn during the colonial period that Afghanistan has never formally recognized. Kabul argues the boundary unjustly divides ethnic Pashtun communities between the two countries, making it one of South Asia\u2019s most politically sensitive frontiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security tensions have also been driven by Pakistan\u2019s accusations that Afghanistan is harboring the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group responsible for a surge in attacks inside Pakistan since its emergence in 2007. Although separate from Afghanistan\u2019s Taliban government, the TTP maintains ideological and historical ties with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Violence linked to the TTP and the Balochistan Liberation Army has increasingly affected Pakistan\u2019s border provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, areas Islamabad considers central to its national security concerns.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pak Army strikes Afghan posts with the Multi Launch Rocket System (MLRS) \ud83d\udca5#Pakistan<\/a> #Afghanistan<\/a> #ISPR<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ZLFTzQrYkm<\/a><\/p>— Pakistan Armed Forces News \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf0 (@PakistanFauj) February 27, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote>