Pakistani Air Strikes Kill Six in Afghanistan, Taliban Reports

On the morning of March 13, 2026, residents of Kabul awoke to the sound of Pakistani warplanes striking targets in the Afghan capital for what has become a grim routine. At least four civilians were killed and fifteen injured in overnight airstrikes that also hit a fuel depot belonging to the private airline Kam Air near Kandahar airport [1]. Afghanistan's Taliban government accused Pakistan of deliberately targeting civilian homes — an allegation Islamabad denies [2].

The strikes represent the latest chapter in what Pakistan's defense minister has officially declared an "open war" with its neighbor, a conflict now entering its third week with no ceasefire in sight [3]. What began as targeted counter-terrorism operations has metastasized into the most serious military confrontation between the two nations in decades, threatening to destabilize a region already battered by poverty, displacement, and extremism.

The Spark: From Terror Attacks to Air Campaigns

The immediate catalyst for the current escalation traces back to a bloody February inside Pakistan. On January 29, the Balochistan Liberation Army launched a week-long series of attacks across Balochistan province. On February 6, a suicide bomber from the Islamic State's Pakistan Province struck a Shia mosque in Islamabad, killing 36 worshippers. Ten days later, a Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attack on a checkpoint in Bajaur killed 11 soldiers and a child [4].

Pakistan's military response came on February 22, when the Pakistan Air Force conducted what it described as "intelligence-based, selective operations" against seven camps and hideouts belonging to the TTP, its affiliates, and the Islamic State — Khorasan Province (ISKP) in Afghanistan's Nangarhar, Paktika, and Khost provinces. At least 18 people were killed [5].

Afghanistan's Taliban government, led by spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, condemned the strikes as a "breach of international law and the principles of good neighbourliness," claiming women and children were among the casualties. The Taliban denied that TTP operates from Afghan territory — a longstanding point of contention between the two governments [6].

Retaliation and Escalation

On February 26, the situation spiraled dramatically. Afghanistan's Taliban forces launched what Mujahid described as "large-scale offensive operations" against Pakistani military positions and installations along the Durand Line [7]. Pakistan responded within hours by bombing several Afghan border provinces — and for the first time, the capital Kabul itself [3].

Pakistan's Defense Minister declared his country's patience had "run out," officially labeling the conflict an "open war" [8]. The Pakistan Air Force subsequently conducted strikes in Panjshir, Kabul, Badakhshan, Herat, and Kapisa on March 3. By March 5, armed clashes were reported between Taliban forces and Pakistani border guards across six provinces: Khost, Paktia, Paktika, Kunar, Nangarhar, and Kandahar [9].

The casualty claims from each side diverge sharply. Pakistan's army spokesperson claimed Pakistani air and ground operations killed at least 274 members of Afghan forces and affiliated militants and wounded more than 400 [7]. Afghan sources estimated Pakistani military fatalities at around 150, while also claiming to have captured 13 Pakistani border outposts [10]. Al Jazeera has noted it has been unable to independently verify either side's figures.

The Human Cost

Source: OCHA / IOM Situation Update

Data as of Mar 5, 2026CSV

The toll on civilians has been devastating. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) reported that 56 civilians were killed — including 24 children — by Pakistani military operations between February 26 and March 5 alone [11]. Afghanistan's Defense Ministry has put the overall civilian death toll higher, at 110 killed, including 65 women and children, with 123 wounded [12].

The displacement crisis is staggering. According to OCHA and IOM, approximately 115,000 people have been forced from their homes, with humanitarian partners estimating 16,370 families newly displaced across Khost (2,500 families), Kunar (3,500), Nangarhar (2,500), Paktika (470), Paktia (7,000), and Nuristan (400) [11][13].

The fighting has also damaged critical civilian infrastructure. Airstrikes hit a 20-bed emergency hospital at the IOM Transit Centre and destroyed the Omari Returnee Reception Centre, both at the Torkham border crossing in Nangarhar Province. Border operations at Torkham and Bahramcha have been suspended, cutting off vital humanitarian supply routes [13].

"This conflict piles misery on misery," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said, pleading for both sides to pursue dialogue [14].

The Durand Line: A 133-Year-Old Wound

The current conflict cannot be understood without the Durand Line, the 2,640-kilometer border that has divided Pashtun communities and fueled tensions between Kabul and Islamabad since 1893 [15].

Drawn by British diplomat Mortimer Durand and Afghan Emir Abdur Rahman Khan, the line was originally a demarcation between the British Indian Empire and the Emirate of Afghanistan. When Pakistan inherited the border upon independence in 1947, Afghanistan refused to recognize it. A 1949 Afghan loya jirga declared the Durand Line and all related agreements void [15].

No Afghan government — from the monarchies through the Soviet-backed regimes, the first Taliban government, the U.S.-backed republic, or the current Taliban administration — has ever formally accepted the border. Pakistan, meanwhile, has invested billions in fencing it. The dispute feeds directly into the current crisis: Pakistan accuses the Taliban government of harboring TTP militants who use Afghan territory as a staging ground for attacks. The Taliban insists the TTP is a Pakistani internal matter [6].

The TTP Factor

Source: World Bank / SIPRI

Data as of Feb 24, 2026CSV

The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan remains the central flashpoint. Distinct from the Afghan Taliban despite shared ideological roots, the TTP has waged an insurgency against the Pakistani state since 2007. The group's leader, Noor Wali Mehsud, was the target of a Pakistani airstrike on Kabul in October 2025 — a strike that triggered a previous round of clashes killing at least 23 Pakistani and 9 Afghan soldiers before a fragile Qatar-mediated ceasefire in October 2025 [16].

That ceasefire proved short-lived. Subsequent talks failed to produce lasting agreements, and low-level skirmishes continued through early 2026 [17]. Pakistan's frustration grew as TTP attacks accelerated inside its borders, with the February 2026 mosque bombing serving as the breaking point.

A CSIS analysis noted that Pakistan's declaration of "open war" represents a fundamental shift in strategy — moving from targeted strikes against specific TTP camps to a broader confrontation with the Taliban government itself [4]. This escalation raises the prospect of a protracted conflict between a nuclear-armed state and a government that survived two decades of war against the world's most powerful military coalition.

International Response: Calls for Peace, Limited Leverage

The international community has responded with alarm but limited concrete action. At a heated UN Security Council session on March 9, Pakistan, India, and Afghan representatives exchanged sharp words. Pakistan's Ambassador insisted the operations were "in full conformity with the right to self-defence and international humanitarian law." India accused Pakistan of "flagrant violations of international law," while Afghan representatives urged a halt to strikes on civilian areas [18].

Multiple nations have stepped forward with mediation offers. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered to broker a new ceasefire as clashes entered their sixth day [17]. Russia offered mediation and urged both nations to halt cross-border attacks. Qatar's foreign minister discussed de-escalation with his Pakistani counterpart. China, Iran, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Malaysia, and Uzbekistan all called for a ceasefire [19].

The United States has taken a notably different tack. President Donald Trump praised Pakistani leaders for "fighting against Taliban forces," with the U.S. expressing support for Pakistan's counter-terrorism objectives [18]. This represents a dramatic reversal from just five years earlier, when the U.S. was negotiating with the same Taliban government it had helped install through the 2020 Doha Agreement.

Despite the flurry of diplomatic activity, Pakistan has shown no inclination to stop. Pakistan's prime minister's spokesman delivered a blunt message: "There won't be any talks. There's no dialogue. There's no negotiation" [20].

Economic Fallout

The conflict threatens to further devastate two economies already under severe strain.

Source: World Bank

Data as of Feb 24, 2026CSV

According to the Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, bilateral trade — which could have exceeded $5 billion — has fallen to less than $1 billion due to repeated disruptions to border crossings [16]. The suspension of the Torkham and Bahramcha border crossings has choked a critical economic lifeline for millions on both sides of the border.

Afghanistan's economy, already shattered by the Taliban takeover in 2021, which triggered a GDP contraction of 20.7% that year, faces further devastation [21]. With a population of approximately 42.6 million, the country was already the subject of a $1.71 billion humanitarian appeal for 2026, targeting 17.5 million people in need. That appeal is only 10% funded [13].

Pakistan, with 251 million people and its own economic troubles — including a recent period of negative GDP growth in 2023 — can ill afford a sustained military campaign [21]. Its military expenditure already consumes approximately 2.7% of GDP, a burden that will only grow as operations intensify [22].

The Asymmetry of Information

One of the most troubling aspects of this conflict is the fog of war surrounding casualty figures. Afghan local sources have reported that the Taliban government is restricting access to information about its own military casualties and those among civilians [12]. Pakistan, for its part, has claimed to have killed 464 Afghan Taliban personnel while providing minimal evidence [7].

Independent verification is nearly impossible. International media access to conflict zones is severely restricted by both governments. The significant discrepancies between official casualty figures from each side — sometimes differing by orders of magnitude — underscore the challenges of reporting on a conflict where both parties have strong incentives to shape the narrative.

What Comes Next

The conflict shows no signs of abating. As of March 13, Pakistan continues to conduct airstrikes on Afghan territory, and Taliban forces maintain their positions along contested border areas [1][2]. The Chatham House think tank has warned that de-escalation is urgently needed, noting that the current trajectory risks drawing in regional powers and creating a new humanitarian catastrophe in an already devastated region [23].

Several factors could shape the coming weeks. The onset of warmer weather in the mountainous border regions will improve conditions for ground operations on both sides. Pakistan's domestic political dynamics — with the military-backed government facing economic pressures — could push toward either escalation or a face-saving diplomatic off-ramp. And the Taliban government, having survived twenty years of American military power, shows no sign of backing down against Pakistan.

The historical precedent is not encouraging. The Durand Line has been a source of conflict for over a century, and the addition of the TTP dimension has only intensified the underlying tensions. Previous ceasefires, including the October 2025 Qatar-mediated agreement, collapsed within weeks.

What remains certain is the cost borne by ordinary people on both sides of the line — the displaced families sheltering in overcrowded camps, the children killed in airstrikes on residential neighborhoods, the traders watching their livelihoods evaporate as border crossings shut down. For them, the geopolitical chess match between Islamabad and Kabul is measured not in strategic advantage, but in lives lost and futures destroyed.