Pakistan launched a series of bombardments on several areas within Afghanistan on Friday, February 27, following Afghanistan’s announcement of a major offensive against Pakistani military posts near the border.
This marks the latest surge in tensions between the two neighboring nations, reigniting a volatile regional dispute.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan stated that its forces initiated attacks on Pakistani military bases near the shared frontier on Thursday evening, February 26. Pakistan responded within hours, unleashing bombardments on targets in the Afghan capital, Kabul, as well as in Kandahar and Paktika provinces. These provinces are strategically located near the 2,600 km long border that separates the two countries.
Amidst ongoing claims and counter-claims from both sides, the BBC has yet to independently confirm any casualties resulting from these confrontations. This latest flare-up comes despite a ceasefire agreement reached in October 2025, which followed a week of deadly clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Below is a breakdown of what is known so far regarding these significant developments.
What Transpired on Thursday Evening?
The initial reports of hostilities surfaced on Thursday, February 26, 2026. According to statements from Taliban officials, attacks commenced at 8:00 PM local time across the border regions, specifically targeting Nangarhar, Nuristan, Kunar, Khost, Paktia, and Paktika Provinces.
Pakistan swiftly retaliated, asserting that the Taliban had “miscalculated and opened fire at multiple locations” across the border into Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Pakistan claimed its response was “immediate and effective.” This led to a series of Pakistani bombing raids inside Afghanistan in the early hours of Friday, February 27, striking targets in Kabul and the border provinces.
Adding to the conflicting narratives, Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesperson in Afghanistan, published a post on X (formerly Twitter) – which was subsequently deleted. The post claimed that Taliban forces had launched attacks against Pakistani military positions near the border in Kandahar and Helmand Provinces on Friday morning, February 27. The BBC has been unable to independently verify the veracity of all these claims from either side.
The Impact of the Military Strikes
The Afghan Taliban regime alleged that its forces conducted aerial attacks on several targets within Pakistan on Friday morning. Sources within the Taliban government informed the BBC that these attacks were carried out using drones launched from Afghan territory. A Pakistani military officer confirmed that these drones targeted three distinct locations: an army artillery school in Nowshehra, a military academy in Abbottabad, and an area near a primary school in Swabi. He further claimed that all the drones were successfully neutralized.
Such drone attacks are considered largely unprecedented in the context of Taliban military operations. Taliban forces are generally believed to rely heavily on improvised explosive devices (IEDs) carried by commercial drones, which typically limit their range and targeting capabilities.
In contrast, a Pakistani army spokesperson stated that their forces had targeted 22 military sites across Afghanistan, including key locations in Kabul and Kandahar. They asserted that these strikes were executed with precision to avoid civilian casualties. The spokesperson claimed a significant toll on the Afghan Taliban, reporting at least 274 Taliban soldiers killed, 73 military posts destroyed, and 18 soldiers captured. Additionally, an estimated 115 tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery systems were purportedly annihilated. Conversely, Pakistan reported 12 of its own soldiers killed, 27 injured, and one missing in the intense fighting.
The Afghan Taliban spokesperson, Mujahid, presented a drastically different account. He reported 13 Taliban soldiers killed and 22 wounded, alongside 13 civilians injured and an unspecified number of civilian deaths. He specifically highlighted that a farmer’s home in Jalalabad had been bombed, resulting in the deaths of most of his family, and a religious school in Paktika was also attacked. Mujahid further claimed that 55 Pakistani soldiers had been killed, with the bodies of 23 reportedly brought back to Afghanistan. He also stated that several Pakistani personnel were captured alive, and 19 military bases were destroyed.
International Reactions and Calls for De-escalation
Both Pakistan and Afghanistan engaged in a mutual blame game, each accusing the other of initiating the attacks and claiming to have inflicted significant damage. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared his nation’s forces capable of “destroying” their enemies, while his defense minister went as far as to declare “open war” on the Afghan Taliban.
In response, the Afghan Taliban regime stated it “will retaliate if we are attacked, but we will not initiate clashes at this time,” a military spokesperson told the BBC. The group’s primary spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed the attacks had killed “many” Pakistani soldiers and captured others—a claim swiftly refuted by Pakistani authorities. Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesperson for the Pakistani prime minister, claimed 133 Afghan Taliban soldiers were killed and over 200 injured on Thursday night. Again, the BBC has not been able to independently verify these figures.
Internationally, there have been urgent calls for de-escalation. UN officials urged both parties to immediately scale back the fighting. Iran, a nation bordering both countries, offered to mediate, with its Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi highlighting Ramadan as “a month of self-restraint and strengthening solidarity in the Islamic world.” China, which maintains friendly relations with both Afghanistan and Pakistan, also called for a ceasefire, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning urging them to “remain calm and exercise restraint.”
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister met with his Pakistani counterpart to discuss strategies for reducing the mounting tensions. UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper advocated for dialogue, emphasizing that Pakistan and Afghanistan must “take immediate steps towards de-escalation” and “avoid further harm to civilians.” The Afghan Taliban spokesperson, Mujahid, reiterated on Friday that “even now, we want this issue to be resolved through dialogue.”
Underlying Causes of the Conflict
These recent aerial attacks are the culmination of months of simmering hostility between the two nations. Their last major confrontation in October 2025 was eventually quelled by a ceasefire brokered with the mediation of Turkey and Qatar.
At the heart of the dispute, Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban government of harboring and supporting “anti-Pakistan terrorists” allegedly responsible for suicide attacks within Pakistan, including a recent assault on a mosque in Islamabad. The Taliban government vehemently denies these claims, repeatedly asserting that Afghan territory is not used to threaten the security of other nations.
Conversely, the Taliban accuses Pakistan of conducting strikes that have resulted in civilian casualties, while Pakistan maintains it solely targets militant groups. Earlier this week, prior to the current escalation, Pakistan carried out several overnight airstrikes in Afghanistan. The Taliban reported that these earlier strikes killed at least 18 people, including women and children.
What Makes This Escalation Different?
Despite being outmatched by nuclear-armed Pakistan in terms of conventional military might, analysts believe it is highly improbable that the Taliban would engage in a conventional war. However, the Afghan Taliban possesses extensive experience in guerrilla warfare, which could shape any prolonged conflict.
What distinguishes Pakistan’s latest attacks, according to Michael Kugelman, a senior research fellow for South Asia at the Atlantic Council, is their focus on Taliban government facilities rather than solely targeting terrorist cells within Afghanistan. Speaking to BBC’s Newsday program, Kugelman remarked, “Now they are targeting the [Taliban] regime itself.”
The increasingly aggressive rhetoric from the Taliban, which suggests a commitment to “relentless attacks” against Pakistan, indicates a “precarious situation” that could easily spiral into a full-blown conflict. Qari Muhammad Fasihuddin, the Afghan Taliban’s military chief, asserted in a video message on Friday that Pakistan could anticipate an “even stronger response” in the future.
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Additional reporting by the BBC Afghanistan and Urdu teams.
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