Pakistan-Taliban showdown risks becoming a protracted war of attrition

South China Morning Post · Feb 28, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities are locked in a widening tit-for-tat confrontation that neither side seems willing to defuse, analysts said, warning the exchanges risked settling into a prolonged conflict along one of Asia’s most volatile borders.Islamabad has vowed to keep striking military targets inside Afghanistan until the Taliban takes action against the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups Pakistan says operate from Afghan soil.Pakistani warplanes and drones struck command-and-control centres, logistical infrastructure and munitions dumps in eastern Afghanistan as dawn broke on Saturday, a day after the military described the fighting as “open war” between the former allies.Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the army’s chief spokesman, had warned the campaign would not end until “our objectives are met”.Pakistani ground forces, supported by artillery and tanks, have been destroying Afghan military posts in border areas Islamabad says are vulnerable to infiltration by the TTP and other insurgent groups operating from Afghanistan since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover.01:43Pakistan declares ‘open war’ with Afghanistan’s Taliban after striking Kabul and KandaharPakistan declares ‘open war’ with Afghanistan’s Taliban after striking Kabul and KandaharAccording to a social media post by Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, air strikes against 37 sites inside Afghanistan were carried out up to 9am on Saturday, while 104 Afghan Taliban posts had been destroyed and 22 others captured.