Pakistan’s defense minister declared an "open war" with Afghanistan on Friday after the two sides exchanged heavy fire along their shared border on Thursday, according to multiple reports.

Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said in a post on X that Pakistan had hoped the Taliban would bring stability after NATO’s withdrawal, but instead accused the group of turning Afghanistan "into a colony of India" and "exporting terrorism."

"Our patience has now run out. Now it is open war between us," he said.

The clashes came after the Taliban said it launched retaliatory strikes on Pakistani military positions, while Islamabad said it was responding to unprovoked fire in the area.

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Reuters reported that both forces clashed for more than two hours along their roughly 2,600-kilometer (1,615-mile) border, threatening a ceasefire that had been agreed to in 2025 after fighting.

Thursday's flare-up came after Pakistani forces carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan earlier this week, with Taliban officials saying the strikes killed at least 18 people, Reuters reported Feb. 24.

Pakistan said it targeted militant hideouts and rejected claims that civilians were targeted.

The Taliban described an "extensive" military operation against Pakistani army positions in response to the strikes.

"In response to repeated provocations, extensive preemptive operations have been launched against Pakistani military positions along the Durand Line," Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on X.

 In a separate statement, he said "specialized laser units" were operating at night.

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Taliban military spokesman Mawlawi Wahidullah Mohammadi also said in a video shared with Reuters that the "retaliatory operation" began Thursday evening.

Mujahid said "numerous" Pakistani soldiers had been killed and some were also captured. Reuters said it could not independently verify those claims.

In another post on X, Mujahid said, "The cowardly Pakistani army has bombed some places in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia. Praise be to God, no one was harmed."  

Pakistan has since rejected the Taliban’s account. 

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said on X that the Afghanistan Taliban's "unprovoked action along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border" was given an "immediate and effective response."

The ministry said Taliban forces had "miscalculated and opened unprovoked fire on multiple locations" along the border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The post said the fire was being met with an "immediate and effective response by Pakistan’s security forces."

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"Early reports confirm heavy casualties on the Afghan side with multiple posts and equipment destroyed," the ministry said. 

"Pakistan will take all necessary measures to ensure its territorial integrity and the safety and security of its citizens."

Pakistani security sources also told Reuters that 22 Taliban personnel had been killed, and several quadcopters were shot down.

The fighting follows Pakistan’s accusations that the Taliban is sheltering TTP militants behind a surge in violence and suicide attacks. 

The Afghan Taliban denies the claim. A day before February's strikes, Pakistani officials said they had "irrefutable evidence" that militants were launching attacks from Afghan soil, Reuters reported.

Nearly five years after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, Kabul has appointed its first envoy to India, marking a significant milestone in diplomatic engagement between the two countries. 

Noor Ahmad Noor, a Taliban-appointed diplomat, has assumed responsibility as Chargé d’Affaires at the Afghan Embassy in New Delhi, the first such posting to India since the Taliban returned to power more than four years ago. The move is the latest step in cultivating goodwill, as India's role evolves in Afghanistan.

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The renewed political and economic engagement with the Taliban comes at a time of surging cross-border violence between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which has plunged relations between the two neighbors to a dangerously low point. Just this week, tensions flared back up after a fresh round of deadly strikes and clashes. And nuclear-armed India wasted no time in strongly condemning Islamabad over the attacks and voiced support for Kabul’s sovereignty.

Against this backdrop of sustained hostilities, India stands out as one country that has much to gain. Experts say India’s reset with the Taliban reflects a pragmatic policy, aimed at countering Pakistani influence while protecting its own long-term security interests in the region.
 

"This is a classic case of ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend,’" Sid Dubey, a visiting professor at Bennett University in India, told Fox News. "The only thing the two parties are mutually aligned on is Pakistan and the enmity both have toward the Islamic Republic."

Kabul’s rapidly deteriorating relationship with Islamabad factors heavily into India’s calculations. For decades, Pakistan sought what it called "strategic depth" in Afghanistan, backing Taliban factions to ensure a friendly government in Kabul. But now, as frictions rise over border disputes, closer coordination between India and Afghanistan stretches Pakistan’s capacity to manage tensions on multiple fronts. 

At the same time, analysts say, it gives India the opportunity to extend its influence in the region at the expense of another rival, China. Furthermore, Pakistan buffers India and Afghanistan, making strategic alignment between New Delhi and Kabul particularly significant.

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"Afghanistan is cursed by its geography and proximity to foreign powers who will always meddle," Dubey explained, as regional fault lines only continue to sharpen. "And with virtually no American influence on the Taliban government anymore, Delhi feels secure in going ahead with its own India-centric Afghan policy."

Like most other countries, India does not formally recognize the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, both nations have been taking a series of quiet but significant steps to deepen ties. Over the last year, several high-level diplomatic interactions have been billed as groundbreaking. Cooperation has expanded across the board, from healthcare and humanitarian aid to cultural exchanges and economic projects.

Dubey claimed there's another big reason for Delhi's push. "India supports all this in the hope or understanding that one day, if needed, India can use Afghanistan as a platform to strike Pakistan."

For its part, Kabul is embracing this new era of cooperation, hailing the stronger ties with India as Pakistan views these developments with deep suspicion. Engagement with India also offers the Taliban a measure of legitimacy on the world stage. 

As Dubey noted, Afghanistan remains one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world, heavily dependent on external assistance, making India’s aid extremely beneficial.

If sustained, India’s growing engagement with the Taliban could reshape changing regional dynamics. A weakened Pakistan-Taliban relationship undercuts Islamabad’s long-standing leverage in Kabul, altering the formerly established balance of power. It also complicates China’s calculus, as Beijing weighs its own security concerns.

Looking further ahead, if Washington again expands its involvement in Afghanistan, New Delhi could serve as a key intermediary, given that U.S. and Indian ties are also on an upward trajectory.