KABUL, March 3: Fierce border battles between Taliban forces and Pakistan entered their fifth day today, with gunfire and airstrikes persisting along the disputed Durand Line as civilians on both sides brace for worse.
The latest flare-up began on February 24 evening when Taliban fighters launched sweeping retaliatory assaults on Pakistani border posts and outposts, mainly in eastern and southeastern Afghanistan. Kabul framed the operation as payback for Islamabad’s February 21 airstrikes, which Pakistan said targeted Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hideouts inside Afghanistan. The UN later verified civilian deaths in those raids, fueling outrage in local communities.
Pakistan branded the Taliban incursions “unjustified” and warned of severe fallout, swiftly unleashing “Ghazb lil Haq”—a massive air campaign starting February 25. Fighter jets and drones hammered Taliban sites from Kabul to Kandahar, including explosions near Kabul’s Darulaman and Pul-e-Charkhi depots, and strikes in Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada’s Kandahar stronghold.
Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif declared open war on the Taliban, accusing them of serving as an Indian proxy—a charge denied by both New Delhi and Kabul, who dismissed it as a ploy to divert from Pakistan’s internal crises.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed hits in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia, vowing counterstrikes in Kandahar, Helmand, and eastern frontiers. They claimed capturing and torching multiple Pakistani posts with heavy enemy losses, while signaling openness to talks even as fighting raged.
By February 26, Taliban attacks intensified in Khost, Nangarhar, Paktika, and Kunar—overrunning positions in Zazi Maidan, Ali Sher, and Terezai districts. Pakistan hit back with air and artillery barrages, though residents noted slightly lighter bombardment around Kabul and Nangarhar.
The UN and Russia pleaded for an immediate ceasefire and diplomacy, warning of dire civilian tolls in long-troubled border zones. Both sides tout massive enemy casualties and destroyed bases, but without neutral verification, the claims remain murky.
Today, March 2, Kabul locals reported Pakistani jets buzzing overhead once more, met by Taliban anti-aircraft fire, as the cycle of retaliation shows no sign of breakin
