Pakistan-Afghanistan ‘war’ highlights: US backs Islamabad's 'right to defend itself' against Kabul

Updates to this live blog have ended.

Pakistan-Afghanistan 'war' live updates: Afghanistan's Taliban rulers said on Friday they were willing to negotiate after Pakistan bombed their forces in major cities and said the allies-turned-foes were in "open war."

Pakistan struck the Afghan capital Kabul, the city of Kandahar, where Taliban leaders are based, and other towns, a Taliban spokesman was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Pakistan-Afghanistan 'war' live updates: The United States said on Friday it supported Pakistan after it bombed neighboring Afghanistan and declared war against its Taliban government following clashes.

"We continue to monitor the situation closely and expressed support for Pakistan's right to defend itself against Taliban attacks," Allison Hooker, the under secretary of state for political affairs, wrote on X after talks with a Pakistani counterpart.

Pakistan-Afghanistan 'war' live updates: Afghanistan’s strikes on Pakistani military targets were intended as "a message that our hands can reach their throats and that we will respond to every evil act of Pakistan,” Afghan government spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said.

After the Afghan strikes, Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif posted on X: “Our patience has now run out. Now it is open war between us.”

Pakistan-Afghanistan 'war' live updates: Iran offered to help facilitate dialogue between Afghanistan and Pakistan after Islamabad declared the neighbours at "open war", carrying out air strikes on Kabul following border clashes.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran stands ready to provide any assistance necessary to facilitate dialogue and to enhance understanding and cooperation between the two countries," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on X.

Pakistan-Afghanistan 'war' live updates: Responding to a reporter who asked whether Afghanistan had sought US involvement in the ongoing Pakistan-Afghanistan border tensions, Trump said that he ‘gets along’ with Islamabad.

He said: “I would, but I get along with Pakistan very well. Very, very well. You have a great Prime Minister, you have a great general there, you have a great leader, two of the people that I really respect a lot. And I think that Pakistan is doing terrifically well, yeah.”

Pakistan-Afghanistan 'war' live updates: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called for an immediate ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan after heavy fighting broke out between the neighbouring countries.

Guterres "is deeply concerned by the escalation of violence we're seeing between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the impact that violence is having on civilian populations," his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

"He calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, and he reiterates his call on the parties to resolve any differences through diplomacy," the spokesman added.

Pakistan’s Operation Ghazab lil-Haq against the Afghan Taliban were ongoing, the Dawn reported, quoting security sources.

The sources quoted in the report said that the operation would continue till its objectives were achieved.

The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross has called for a de-escalation of hostilities between Afghanistan and Pakistan, insisting that civilians must be protected and healthcare access guaranteed, AFP reported.

ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement that her organisation was “preparing an operational response to humanitarian needs on the ground”, but stressed that “no humanitarian response can compensate for political will to respect the rules of war and prioritise de-escalation”.

The government in Pakistan's Sindh has imposed an “immediate ban” on flying quadcopters/unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) outdoors due to the prevailing security environment in the country and the conflict with Afghanistan.

The ban will apply for 60 days throughout the province, with immediate effect, according to a provincial government notification. It will not be applicable to the use of drones by intelligence and law enforcement agencies, the notification said.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in Pakistan has imposed an “immediate and complete ban” on outdoor drone-flying across the province. The ban comes amid Pakistan's conflict with Afghanistan.

The ban, however, does not apply to the use of small drones for the coverage of indoor activities, such as in halls or marquees, and the use of drones by intelligence and law enforcement agencies (LEAs), the provincial home department’s notification detailing the decision says.

The ban will remain in place for 30 days.

Pakistan media is reporting that at least five worshippers have been injured in a quadcopter attack on a mosque during Iftar time in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu.

According to initial reports by the Dawn, explosive material was dropped on the mosque through a quadcopter in the incident, following which a loud blast was heard.

The Pakistani authorities have banned drone flights in PoK's Gilgit-Baltistan. The police spokesperson said the decision was taken on the instructions of the Ministry of Interior, the Dawn reported.

The spokesperson added that the ban would take effect immediately and that legal action would be taken against those who violated it.

The spokesperson further explained that law enforcement and intelligence agencies would be exempt from the ban and could use them within the scope of their professional responsibilities.

Tensions have been high for months, with border clashes in October killing dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants. Pakistan accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of harbouring militant groups that then stage attacks across the border.

A Qatari-mediated ceasefire ended the fighting, although the two sides still occasionally trade fire. Several rounds of peace talks in Istanbul in November failed to produce a lasting agreement.

Attaullah Tarar said that the Afghan Taliban’s new criminal regulation “legalises slavery, violence and repression of women”.

The regulation, he said, “institutionalises an authoritarian system of control. The Taliban’s new regulation contradicts the Cairo Declaration’s core guarantees. It is in breach of all human rights laws and conventions. And it abandons equality and divides society by status. There is stratification”.

The Pakistan information minister, Attaullah Tarrar, termed the Taliban government in Afghanistan an “illegitimate” one.

He maintained that the regime did not have “public backing” and had “usurped the basic rights of their citizens”. He added that the government “used perversion of religion to further their own motives”.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar are engaged in efforts to halt deadly fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan, a source with knowledge of the talks told AFP on Friday.

The diplomatic drive comes as fears of a spiralling conflict grew after Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan, declaring that they were in an "open war" with the Taliban.

The overnight operation was Pakistan's most widespread bombardment of the Afghan capital and its first air strikes on the southern power base of the Taliban authorities since they returned to power in 2021.

"Saudi Arabia, in coordination with Qatar, is making efforts to reduce tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan," said the source, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The goal is to "de-escalate the situation and prevent it from spiralling out of control," they added.

The Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) in a statement has said that any further provocation by the Afghan Taliban “will be met with a measured, decisive and befitting response”.

The statement on X said that the actions taken by Pakistan were for “its right to self-defence and to ensure the safety and security of its citizens, as well as that of the wider region and beyond”.

“Any further provocations by the Taliban regime, or attempts by any terrorist group to undermine the security and welfare of the people of Pakistan, will be met with a measured, decisive and befitting response,” the statement further added.

Both sides have issued sharply different accounts of what has happened.

The Taliban government confirmed Friday's air strikes, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid saying Afghan forces killed 55 Pakistani soldiers, while putting the death toll among Afghan troops at 13.

The head of the Pakistan military's publicity wing, ISPR, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, told reporters "274 Taliban regime members and terrorists" had been killed, for the loss of 12 Pakistani troops.

Casualty claims from both sides are difficult to verify independently.

Taliban said in a press release on Friday that it killed at least 55 Pakistani soldiers in overnight operations. The Afghan government also claimed to have captured two Pakistani army bases.

“A total of 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed, two bases and 19 posts were captured. These attacks targeted Pakistani military forces along the Durand Line, near the provinces of Paktika, Paktia, Khost, Nangarhar, Kunar, and Nuristan. In these operations, the assigned objectives were achieved as planned, and at midnight, by the order of the Chief of General Staff of the Islamic Emirate, the fighting ceased,” a Taliban statement said.

Pakistan has said that its security forces have foiled a drone attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Abbottabad, the Dawn reported, quoting the district police officer.

The Islamabad administration has imposed a complete ban on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including drones, phantoms, and camcopters, in the federal capital for 2 months.

The restriction has been enforced under Section 144 Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). It may be extended for another two months.

Afghans who recently returned from Pakistan and residents near a key crossing expressed their fears of deadly border clashes on Friday, as smoke billowed from the mountains.

AFP journalists heard shellfire and gunfire in Torkham, with Afghan soldiers heading towards the frontier after overnight bombardment by Pakistan, in a major escalation following months of tit-for-tat clashes.

Fighting overnight hit a camp for Afghans who had just crossed from Pakistan, killing one and wounding several others, according to a provincial health official.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has been given a detailed briefing on the Afghanistan situation at the army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, according to a statement issued by his office.

The statement quoted the Pak PM as saying: “There should be zero tolerance towards the collusion between Fitna-al-Khawarij and the Afghan Taliban, and their malicious activities. The acts of the Afghan Taliban and Fitna-al-Khawarij against Pakistan are unacceptable.”

He affirmed that the armed forces of Pakistan, under the leadership of Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, were prepared to defend the country at all times.

“Pakistan knows how to defend itself against any aggression,” he said, and lauded the professional capabilities of the armed forces for repelling the attacks on the border.

“The entire nation is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the armed forces for defending the country,” he said.

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to discuss recent regional developments, including the deteriorating security situation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The call is part of Islamabad’s diplomatic outreach as tensions with Afghanistan escalate following cross-border military exchanges.