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On February 26, 2026, relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan were pushed to a potentially dangerous new level as the Afghan military serving under Taliban government control made what they termed as massive offensive operations on Pakistani military bases along the controversial Durand Line border.

In a statement on X, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that the attacks were a direct response to recent Pakistani airstrikes within Afghanistan that Kabul considered continued provocations and sovereignty abuses. According to Afghan military sources, their forces killed 55 Pakistani soldiers, injured a number of others, and took others alive, and 19 Pakistani army outposts and installations were captured during the heavy clashes that lasted several hours. It is said that the fight consisted of ground attacks, artillery fire, and direct hits on checkpoints within the regions, such as the Khyber district.

Pakistan likewise reacted previously by refuting the allegations as inflated without incurring any outpost loss but as unprovoked aggression by the Afghans. Islamabad responded with counter-strikes made on February 27 and the airstrikes reported against targets in Kabul, Kandahar, and other provinces. Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif suggested that the conditions had already escalated to an open war, which he said would be crushed by the Pakistani troops.

The confrontations happen after several months of tit-for-tat attacks, such as Pakistani airstrikes on the so-called Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) bases in Afghanistan, which the Taliban denies receiving. The Durand Line, 2,611 km long (which had never been formally declared by Afghanistan), is a hotspot, as each party accuses the other of aiding militants.

In the battle, the loss of civilian lives is feared on both sides, with no proven statistics being known, as the battle is riddled with conflicting reports. There are mounting international calls to restrain, and ceasefire initiatives in the mediation of Qatar seem weaker and weaker. With the war going on along the mountainous border, there is a risk of a larger war that will jeopardize stability in the region, which is already a volatile one.