Pakistan carried out airstrikes on military targets in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia province early on February 27, 2026, hours after Afghan Taliban forces launched ground attacks on Pakistani border posts. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif called the situation "open war" and said Islamabad's patience had run out. The operation, named Ghazab Lil Haq or "Righteous Fury," targeted Taliban brigade headquarters, weapons depots, and border installations in a direct strike on the Taliban government for the first time since it took power in 2021.
Pakistani officials said the strikes hit 22 Afghan military sites, destroyed 83 Taliban posts, and captured 17 others. They reported 274 Taliban fighters killed and more than 400 injured, along with the loss of over 80 vehicles and pieces of heavy equipment (according to Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, military spokesman, via Radio Pakistan and DG ISPR statements). Pakistan acknowledged 12 of its own soldiers killed, 27 injured, and one missing from the preceding border clashes. The Taliban disputed those numbers, claiming its forces killed 55 Pakistani troops in the initial assault, captured or destroyed 19 Pakistani posts, and suffered only light losses (according to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, reported by Reuters and Al Jazeera).
This flare-up follows months of rising tensions and represents the most serious direct fighting between the two neighbors in years.
Pakistani leaders framed the action as necessary self-defense against the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistani offshoot of the Taliban that uses Afghan territory as a launchpad for attacks inside Pakistan.
Timeline of Escalation
The current round began building in early February. On February 11, Asif warned that Pakistan might act against TTP hideouts in Afghanistan before Ramadan if the Taliban did not crack down. Terror attacks inside Pakistan have added significant pressure, including a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad killed 36, and an assault in Bajaur killed 11 soldiers and a child (according to Pakistani reports cited in multiple outlets including The Guardian).
On February 19, Pakistan formally warned the Afghan ambassador. Late on February 21, the Pakistan Air Force struck seven alleged TTP and ISIS-K camps in Nangarhar, Paktika, and Khost provinces. The Taliban called those raids attacks on civilians and religious sites, claiming 18 dead, including 11 children; the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) confirmed at least 13 civilians killed and seven injured (per UNAMA reports referenced in news coverage).
A brief lull gave way to renewed border firing on February 24. Then, on the evening of February 26 around 8 p.m. local time, the Taliban launched what it called a large-scale offensive against Pakistani positions along the Durand Line. Fighting erupted near Torkham and in multiple sectors of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan responded immediately with artillery and, overnight, shifted to deep strikes under Operation Ghazab Lil Haq. Explosions rocked Kabul, with secondary blasts reported at a weapons depot on the western outskirts. Strikes also hit Kandahar, the Taliban's spiritual heartland, and Paktia province.
By Friday morning, clashes continued near Torkham. Pakistani artillery fire was visible from the Afghan side, and Afghan troops moved toward the frontier. The Taliban said it carried out drone strikes on Pakistani targets; Pakistan reported downing all of them with no damage (per Pakistani military statements in DawnNews and other sources).
Inside Operation Ghazab Lil Haq
Pakistani forces used air-to-ground missiles and precision strikes on Taliban military offices, headquarters, and ammunition storage. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the operation hit defense facilities in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia, with possible further casualties (according to his statements on X and reported by Moneycontrol and others).
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated the armed forces would "crush" any aggression and that the nation stood united behind them.
The name Ghazab Lil Haq translates roughly to "Righteous Fury," signaling Islamabad's view that the action is justified retaliation after repeated warnings and failed diplomacy. This marks a policy shift: earlier Pakistani strikes since 2021 and 2024 targeted only suspected militant camps, not official Taliban military positions. Now Pakistan is hitting the Taliban government directly to force it to end its tolerance of TTP sanctuaries.
Casualties and Claims
Numbers differ sharply, as is common in the opening hours of such clashes. Pakistan's military spokesman Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry reported 274 Taliban killed since Thursday night and 12 Pakistani soldiers lost (via DG ISPR and Radio Pakistan). The Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani strikes hit civilian areas in Jalalabad and Paktia, including a religious school and a farmer's home, but gave lower figures for its own military losses: 13 fighters killed and 12 wounded in the retaliatory phase. The Taliban claimed 55 Pakistani troops killed in its February 26 offensive and said it seized posts and equipment (per Mujahid's statements to Reuters, Al Jazeera, BBC).
Independent verification remains limited. UNAMA has confirmed civilian deaths from the earlier February 21 strikes but has not yet reported on the latest round. On-the-ground journalists near Torkham described heavy artillery exchanges and wounded civilians arriving at hospitals in Jalalabad.
Roots of the Conflict: TTP and the Durand Line
At its core, the fighting stems from Pakistan's insistence that the Afghan Taliban allow TTP fighters to operate from Afghan soil. The TTP, which shares ideology with the Afghan Taliban but fights to overthrow the Pakistani state, has stepped up attacks since the U.S. withdrawal in 2021.
Pakistan says safe havens in Afghanistan enable these strikes
The Taliban denies harboring them and accuses Pakistan of interfering in Afghan affairs.
The disputed Durand Line, the 2,610-kilometer colonial-era border that splits Pashtun tribes, adds fuel. It is named after Sir Henry Mortimer Durand, the British diplomat and foreign secretary of colonial India who negotiated the 1893 agreement with Emir Abdur Rahman Khan to delineate spheres of influence between British India and Afghanistan. Neither side fully accepts it today, and it has seen repeated clashes. A Qatar-mediated ceasefire in October 2025 collapsed amid continued TTP violence and cross-border incidents. Pakistan tried talks, démarches, and limited strikes, but Asif said:
Our cup of patience has overflowed.
Military Dynamics in Play
Pakistan brings overwhelming conventional advantages: a modern air force with JF-17s and F-16s, superior artillery, and a 660,000-strong active military. It can strike deep into Afghanistan while protecting its own airspace. The Taliban claims to field roughly 170,000 soldiers, including many veterans of the fight against U.S. and NATO forces, but lacks meaningful air power and relies on light infantry, captured weapons, drones, and knowledge of rugged terrain.
This gives Pakistan the ability to conduct limited, punitive operations aimed at changing Taliban behavior on sanctuaries without full invasion. The Taliban can respond with ground raids, suicide attacks, and asymmetric harassment along the long, porous border. So far, both sides appear calibrated: Pakistan claims to avoid broad civilian targeting, and the Taliban has not yet escalated to major incursions inside Pakistan proper.
Regional Stakes and What Comes Next
The fighting risks drawing in neighbors. China watches its CPEC investments in Pakistan; India, long accused by Islamabad of backing anti-Pakistan elements in Afghanistan, stays alert. Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran have offered mediation. Former U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has, in the past, called for a monitored agreement so neither side allows territory to threaten the other.
For now, Pakistan says operations continue on the prime minister's orders until the threat is addressed. With Ramadan ongoing, the coming days will test whether force compels restraint or sparks a wider, prolonged border war.
This remains a fluid situation.
