Taliban & terror: How Pakistan came to declare ‘open war’ on Afghanistan

Pakistan launched airstrikes on Afghanistan overnight, in what Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif described as an “open war” after months of cross-border attacks from both sides. Reuters reported that 274 people had been killed in Afghanistan since Thursday night. ## The Taliban factor in Pakistan-Afghanistan ties Pakistan’s Operation “Ghazab lil-Haq” (meaning, righteous fury) comes amid its criticism of the Taliban-led Afghan government on security-related issues. Specifically, it has accused Afghanistan of failing to rein in the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has operated in Pakistan since 2007, while the Afghan Taliban have denied supporting the group. It has alleged that the Afghan Taliban is acting on behalf of India as New Delhi- Kabul ties have warmed. New Delhi, on its part, has condemned Pakistan’s strikes and described them as another attempt by Pakistan to “externalise its internal failures”. Initially comprising separate groups, TTP seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate by overthrowing the Pakistani government. It has launched several terror attacks over the years, including one in a Peshawar school in 2014 that killed 132 students. Pakistan had welcomed the Afghan Taliban’s return to power in 2021 — to gain strategic depth in the region (and to counter India). But TTP-led terror attacks in Pakistan have only increased since then, especially in the northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region that borders Afghanistan, resulting in a souring of relations. In October 2025, too, a ceasefire mediated by Qatar and Turkey in Doha halted a round of hostilities. That did not last. The Pakistan information ministry, citing a series of suicide bombing attacks this month — including an attack on February 6 that killed more than 30 people at a mosque in Islamabad, said it had “conclusive evidence” to show that the acts were perpetrated by militants at the “behest of their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers”. ## Worsening Pakistan-Afghanistan ties The security issues have spurred other actions, adding to the friction. The think-tank International Crisis Group noted that Islamabad’s “pressure tactics”, like forced deportation of over 1.7 million Afghan refugees from Pakistan and launching airstrikes on supposed TTP bases and even ensuring “hits” as far as in the capital Kabul, did not sit well with the Afghan Taliban. The 2,640-km Durand Line adds another layer of complexity, with attacks along this border in recent days. Established in 1893 by the British, Afghanistan later rejected it for cutting through the Pashtun and Baloch areas. Former Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan, Vivek Katju, earlier wrote for The Indian Express that before 1947, Afghanistan urged Britain to relinquish the agreement, which it refused to do. “That would have meant that all the Pashtun lands ceded to British India would revert to Afghanistan, effectively making the Indus as the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.” On Friday, the Turkish Foreign Minister spoke with his Pakistani, Afghan, Qatari and Saudi counterparts to discuss the conflict, AP reported. What might happen over the next few days will also stem from the differences in military capabilities. The Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported: “The Taliban’s strengths are rooted in unconventional and guerrilla-style warfare, whereas Pakistan’s advantages lie in its conventional force structure, air power and deterrent capability… It implies that a head-on military contest would therefore never favour Kabul.” Rishika Singh is a deputy copyeditor at the Explained Desk of The Indian Express. She enjoys writing on issues related to international relations, and in particular, likes to follow analyses of news from China. Additionally, she writes on developments related to politics and culture in India. ... Read More