The open war between Afghanistan and Pakistan follows months of military exchanges, the deadliest of which occurred in October 2025, over Islamabad’s accusation that the Afghan Taliban harbours militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, specifically the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Tensions peaked when Rawalpindi conducted air strikes on February 21 against targets it said were linked to TTP militants, ostensibly in retaliation for recent terrorist attacks inside Pakistan. But when the Afghan Taliban retook power from US-led forces after the West’s disastrous 20-year war, Pakistan’s support for the former had played an important role. The Durand Line, for many Pashtun nationalists in Afghanistan, remains an illegitimate colonial inheritance that they do not recognise. With Islamabad concluding that the Afghan Taliban were unwilling to rein in the TTP, dialogue has now given way to conflict.

Source: Indian Express March 05, 2026 11:06 UTC