Photograph: Fazal Rahman/AFP via Getty ImagesPakistan’s defence minister has said his country has run out of “patience” and now considers itself in an “open war” with neighbouring Afghanistan. Pakistan has frequently accused neighbouring India of backing the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army and the Pakistani Taliban, allegations New Delhi denies. Afghan Taliban soldiers gather on the Afghan side of a border crossing with Pakistan. Afghanistan’s defence ministry said overnight that 55 Pakistani soldiers had been killed, including some whose bodies were taken into Afghanistan, and that “several others were captured alive”. An Afghan Taliban soldier gives instructions to drivers on the Afghan side of the Torkham border crossing with Pakistan.

Source: The Irish Times February 28, 2026 00:03 UTC