What is Known About Escalation Between Afghanistan and Pakistan

Fighting broke out along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border on the evening of January 26

© John Moore/ Getty Images

ISLAMABAD, February 27. /TASS/. Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif announced that his country is now in an open armed conflict with the Taliban government in Afghanistan.

The Afghan Defense Ministry announced the completion of a retaliatory military operation against the Pakistani armed forces, carried out the previous evening.

Later, Afghanistan’s Ariana News TV channel reported that hostilities had resumed.

TASS has compiled the main information about the escalation of the situation.

Clashes and air strikes

- Fighting broke out along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border on the evening of January 26.

- Kabul announced that it had launched a military operation in response to Pakistan's air strikes and captured 15 border posts.

- Islamabad reported the destruction of Afghan fortifications and equipment in retaliation.

- Pakistani Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar said his country's Air Force struck several military targets in Afghanistan, including in the capital region.

- In an interview with the PTV channel, the minister said that the air strikes had hit key targets of the Afghan forces in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia.

- According to him, several brigade and corps headquarters, ammunition depots, and logistics supply sites had been destroyed.

- The Afghan Defense Ministry announced the completion of a military operation against the Pakistani armed forces, carried out the previous evening.

- The statement noted that the operation was a response to "the violation of Afghanistan's territorial integrity and the deaths of women and children" resulting from the Pakistani military's actions.

- According to the ministry, at 8:00 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. GMT) on February 26, Afghan forces launched an offensive in the east and southeast along the Durand Line border with Pakistan, including the provinces of Paktika, Paktia, Khost, Nangarhar, Kunar, and Nuristan.

- According to the statement, during the four hours of fighting, Afghan forces managed to capture two Pakistani military bases and 19 posts. Four more border posts were abandoned by Pakistani servicemen.

- Pakistani Air Force planes are patrolling the skies over the Afghan province of Kandahar after air strikes on military targets in the neighboring country, the PTV channel reported, citing sources.

- Fighting resumed on the Afghan-Pakistani border on the morning of February 27, the Ariana News TV channel reported.

- The Afghan Air Force has struck Pakistani military bases near the cities of Abbottabad, Jamrud, Naushehra, and Faisalabad, successfully hitting the designated targets, the Defense Ministry reported.

- The Pakistani armed forces struck the Dand Aw Patan area in the Paktia province in eastern Afghanistan, Ariana News reported, citing sources in the Afghan security services.

- The Pakistani army captured five Afghan military fortifications in the Paktia province, the Samaa TV channel said, citing sources.

- According to its information, the military raised Pakistani flags on Afghan positions. In addition, the channel said that Taliban forces are suffering "heavy losses."

- The Pakistani armed forces shot down several drones launched from Afghan territory, Information and Broadcasting Minister Attaullah Tarar said.

- He added that there were no casualties as a result of the attack.

- The Afghan armed forces struck a "nuclear facility" and a military base in the Kakul village near Abbottabad in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Ariana News reported, noting that "hundreds of dead and injured" have been taken to a hospital in Islamabad.

- The Pakistan Military Academy is located in Kakul.

- Pakistani servicemen struck the Barmal district in the eastern Afghan province of Paktika, killing three civilians and injuring several others, Ariana News said.

Casualties

- At least 274 Afghan servicemen were killed and over 400 more were injured as a result of Pakistan's retaliatory actions, Pakistani army spokesman Ahmed Shareef Chaudhry said at a press conference.

- According to him, the army destroyed 73 Afghan border checkpoints and took control of another 18.

- In addition, more than 115 pieces of military equipment, including tanks, armored personnel carriers, and artillery, were destroyed, Chaudhry noted.

- At least 12 Pakistani servicemen have been killed since the start of hostilities with Afghanistan, he added. Another 27 troops were injured, and one is missing.

- Islamabad reported that at least 133 Afghan servicemen were killed, more than 200 were injured, and about 80 pieces of military equipment were destroyed during the Pakistani armed forces' operations.

- The Afghan Defense Ministry reported the deaths of 55 Pakistani troops, as well as the capture of prisoners of war and equipment, including a tank and other light and heavy weapons.

- The Afghan military also said that eight of its soldiers were killed and 11 were injured.

- In addition, 13 civilians were wounded in a Pakistani missile strike on a refugee camp in the Nangarhar province.

Official Pakistani statements

- Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said that his country and the Taliban government in Afghanistan are now in a state of open armed confrontation.

- Asif accused Kabul of "turning Afghanistan into a colony of India," encouraging and exporting terrorism, and oppressing the population.

- Pakistan's armed forces have everything they need to respond decisively to any attack on the country's territory, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said.

- Islamabad hopes to "prevent the conflict with Kabul from escalating into a large-scale regional war," Ambassador to Russia Faisal Niaz Tirmizi told TASS.

Afghan position

- Any attacks on Afghan territory will have serious consequences for Pakistan, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani said.

- He also blamed Islamabad for the escalation of tensions.

- Afghan Army Chief of Staff Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat warned that Afghan forces are ready to take combat operations deep into Pakistani territory, including Islamabad, in the event of a threat to national security.

- The Afghan authorities are seeking to resolve differences in relations with Pakistan through peaceful means, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said at a press conference.

Reasons behind escalation

- On February 22, the Pakistani Information and Broadcasting Ministry reported targeted strikes on militant positions of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan and Wilayat Khorasan, the Afghan branch of the Islamic State terrorist group (both organizations are banned in Russia).

- According to the ministry, the operation was carried out in response to recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan, including an explosion at a mosque in Islamabad.

- Afghan authorities reported dozens of civilian deaths as a result of the Pakistani attack, calling it "an act of provocation."

- Kabul stated that it reserves the right to respond decisively to any "violation of the territorial integrity" of the country.

Reaction around world

- Russia calls on Afghanistan and Pakistan to abandon their dangerous confrontation and return to the negotiating table, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

- Moscow hopes that direct military clashes on the Afghan-Pakistani border will end soon, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

- China is ready to mediate to settle the escalating conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said at a briefing.

- The Collective Security Treaty Organization is closely monitoring the situation on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan and is interested in peace and stability in the region, the organization’s Secretariat told reporters.