Afghanistan-Pakistan conflict : Russia, Iran urge diplomatic end to Pakistan’s ‘open war’ over

Pakistan‘s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday his country’s armed forces can “crush” aggressors, following air strikes on neighbouring Afghanistan

Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Kabul and two other Afghan provinces early on Friday (February 27, 2026), with Islamabad’s Defense Minister declaring the neighbors at “open war” following months of tit-for-tat clashes.

Taliban ⁠spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani forces carried out air strikes in parts of Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia.

Pakistan’s latest operation came after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops on Thursday (February 26, 2026) night over earlier air strikes by Islamabad.

Pakistan claims to kill 70 terrorists in strikes on 7 terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan

Pakistan’s retaliatory Operation Ghazab lil Haq commenced late Thursday (February 26, 2026) night. According to Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, at least 133 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and more than 200 were injured.

India condemns Pakistan’s airstrikes on Afghan territory

Relations between the neighbors have plunged in recent months, with land border crossings largely shut since deadly fighting in October that killed more than 70 people on both sides.

Russia will consider providing arbitration to Afghanistan and Pakistan: Foreign Ministry
Russia urges Afghanistan and Pakistan to halt cross-border attacks immediately and resolve their differences through diplomatic means, the RIA news agency reported on Friday (February 27, 2026), citing the Foreign Ministry.

The Ministry, according to the RIA, said that Russia will consider providing arbitration to Pakistan and Afghanistan if requested by both parties.

Iran ‘ready to facilitate dialogue’ between Afghanistan and Pakistan’: Iran Foreign Minister Araghchi
Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said that Iran is ready to provide any assistance in facilitating dialogue and strengthening collaboration between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“In the blessed month of Ramadan, the month of self-restraint and strengthening solidarity in the world of Islam, it is fitting that Afghanistan and Pakistan manage and resolve their existing differences within the framework of good neighborhoodness and through the path of dialogue,” Mr. Araghchi posted

Afghanistan’s military strength

The capability of the Afghan ‌Taliban‌ ‌armed forces is declining, with a fall in ‌their ability to use foreign equipment that the Islamist group seized when it returned to power in the landlocked country in 2021.

A lack of international recognition for the Taliban administration has also hurt military modernization.

The strength of the Afghan Taliban’s military is thinner compared to Pakistan’s, with only 172,000 active personnel. The group has, however, announced plans to ⁠expand its armed forces to 200,000 persons.

The Afghan forces possess armored fighting vehicles, including Soviet-era main battle tanks, armored personnel carriers and autonomous submarine vehicles, but their exact number is unknown.

The precise number of artillery pieces they possess, which is of at least three different types, is likewise not known.

Afghanistan has no fighter jets and no real air force to speak of. ⁠It is known to possess at least six aircraft — some ⁠of them dating back to the Soviet era — and 23 helicopters, although it is not possible to assess how many are in flight condition.

Pakistan:

Afghanistan attacked Pakistani forces on Thursday and claimed to have killed and captured dozens of troops in retaliation for deadly air strikes days earlier.

The offensive at multiple points along the frontier follows a series of border conflicts and Pakistani strikes on Afghanistan in recent months.

“In response to repeated violations by the Pakistani military, large-scale offensive operations were launched against Pakistani military bases and military establishments,” Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said.

The governor’s office and residents in the province of Kunar told AFP that military action was ongoing, while Afghan officials said armed forces were operating in multiple other provinces.

Pakistan said the attack was “being met with immediate and effective response”.

The ministry wrote on X that Taliban forces opened fire across several sectors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and that Pakistani troops delivered an “immediate and effective response”, inflicting heavy casualties and destroying multiple posts and equipment.

Afghanistan “opened unprovoked fire at multiple locations” across the border in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Islamabad’s information ministry said.

The Taliban government spokesman told AFP that Afghan forces had captured more than 15 Pakistani outposts in two hours.

“Dozens of (Pakistani) soldiers have been killed, and we have transferred 10 dead bodies to Kunar and other areas. There are also several wounded and caught alive,” said Mujahid.

There were no immediate reports of Afghan victims.

Months Of Border Violence

The military operation follows Pakistani attacks on Nangarhar and Paktika provinces overnight into Sunday, which the UN mission in Afghanistan said killed at least 13 civilians.

The Taliban government said at least 18 people were killed and denied Pakistan’s announcement that the military operation left more than 80 terrorists dead.

Both sides also reported cross-border fire on Tuesday, but without casualties.

Relations between the neighbors have plunged in recent months, with land border crossings largely closed since deadly fighting in October that killed more than 70 people on both sides.

Several rounds of negotiations followed an initial ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey, but the attempts have failed to produce a lasting agreement.

Saudi Arabia intervened this month, mediating the release of three Pakistani soldiers captured by Afghanistan in October.

Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of failing to act against terrorist groups that carry out attacks in Pakistan, which the Taliban government denies.

Pakistan’s military launched its air strikes on Afghanistan days ago following a series of lethal suicide blasts.

They included an assault on a Shiite mosque in Islamabad that killed at least 40 people and was claimed by the Islamic State group.

The terrorist group’s regional chapter, Islamic State-Khorasan, also claimed a fatal suicide bombing at a restaurant in Kabul last month.

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