Pakistan strikes Kabul as its defense minister describes open war

Clashes broke out on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Pakistan launched airstrikes on several locations in Afghanistan, including the capital, Kabul. The strikes targeted Taliban government forces directly. Pakistani defense minister Khawaja Asif described the situation as open war.

An airstrike is an attack from aircraft. Kabul is Afghanistan's capital, so the bombing was not confined to remote border hills. The Taliban are the government forces in Afghanistan, and the report said they were targeted directly. Several locations were hit, with the capital named among them.

Open war was Asif's description, as recorded in the account, not a treaty declaration printed by both sides. A defense minister speaking for Pakistan attached that phrase to the clashes. The report did not quote a Taliban casualty figure for these particular strikes. It established the fact of the strikes and the minister's characterization.

Border clashes and capital strikes are different geographic facts inside one escalation. The fighting was reported on the frontier, and the bombs fell as far as Kabul. The 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan war was the file under which the day was listed. No third country's mediation was mentioned in the item.

Targeting government forces directly marks a step beyond strikes described only as hitting militant camps. The report used that directness as part of the event. Asif is the official who supplied the words open war. The Taliban were the forces named as the targets.

Pakistan bombed several sites in Afghanistan, including Kabul, and aimed at Taliban government forces. Clashes were underway on the border. Khawaja Asif described the conflict as open war. Those were the reported elements of the escalation.