Former Allies Turn Enemies: Pakistan Launches Airstrikes Against Afghan Taliban

Pakistan has launched airstrikes against its former ally, the Afghan Taliban, marking a dramatic shift from decades of support. The escalating conflict stems from Pakistan's accusations that Afghanistan harbors militants who launch attacks across the border.

A dramatic transformation has occurred in South Asian geopolitics as Pakistan now wages military campaigns against the very group it helped create and support for over thirty years – the Afghan Taliban.

The latest escalation occurred Monday evening when Pakistani forces conducted an airstrike targeting Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul, representing the most recent episode in growing hostilities between these neighboring nations.

Taliban officials claim the strike against a drug treatment facility resulted in at least 400 deaths and 250 wounded individuals. However, Pakistani authorities dispute these casualty figures, stating their forces “targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure.”

The deteriorating relationship has reached such severity that Pakistan’s defense minister described the mounting tensions as an “open war” between the two Islamic nations last month. Additional Pakistani airstrikes occurred on February 22, targeting militant positions throughout Afghanistan.

These aerial and ground operations struck Taliban military facilities, command centers, and weapons storage sites across multiple border regions, following what officials described as Afghan attacks on Pakistani frontier forces.

Previous border confrontations in October resulted in dozens of military casualties before diplomatic intervention by Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia established a temporary ceasefire agreement.

This current animosity represents a complete reversal from Pakistan’s historical backing of the Taliban movement. During the 1990s, Islamabad actively supported the Taliban’s emergence as part of a strategy to gain “strategic depth” in its regional competition with India.

When the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan initially celebrated the development. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan proclaimed that Afghans had “broken the shackles of slavery.”

However, Pakistan’s expectations of Taliban cooperation quickly proved unrealistic.

Pakistani officials now assert that leaders and fighters from the militant organization Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operate from Afghan territory. They also claim that separatist insurgents seeking independence for Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province use Afghanistan as a sanctuary.

Data from Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, an international monitoring organization, shows militant activity has increased annually since 2022, with both TTP and Baloch insurgent attacks growing more frequent.

Afghan Taliban leadership consistently denies permitting militants to use their territory for cross-border attacks against Pakistan. They counter-accuse Pakistan of harboring Islamic State fighters, which Pakistani officials reject.

The recent February military strikes followed Pakistani security officials’ claims of possessing “irrefutable evidence” linking Afghan-based militants to a series of attacks and suicide bombings targeting Pakistani military and police forces.

These sources identified seven planned or executed militant operations since late 2024 with alleged Afghan connections. One particularly deadly assault in Bajaur district killed 11 security personnel and two civilians, reportedly carried out by an Afghan national and claimed by the TTP.

The TTP, established in 2007 through a coalition of militant groups operating in northwest Pakistan, has become commonly known as the Pakistani Taliban. This organization has conducted attacks on civilian markets, religious sites, airports, military installations, and police facilities while seizing territory along the Afghan border and within Pakistan proper, including the Swat Valley.

The group gained international notoriety for its 2012 attack on schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who later received the Nobel Peace Prize. The TTP previously fought alongside Afghan Taliban forces against U.S.-led coalition troops and provided sanctuary for Afghan fighters within Pakistan.

Despite multiple Pakistani military operations against the TTP achieving limited success, a major offensive concluding in 2016 significantly reduced attacks until recent years.

Military analysts predict Pakistan will likely escalate its campaign, while Afghan retaliation may involve border post raids and increased guerrilla-style cross-border operations targeting security forces.

Although Chinese diplomatic intervention previously helped reduce tensions due to Beijing’s positive relationships with both nations, fighting has resumed amid broader regional conflicts involving the United States and Israel against Iran.

The military balance heavily favors Pakistan on paper. Taliban forces number approximately 172,000 personnel, less than one-third of Pakistan’s military strength. While the Taliban possess at least six aircraft and 23 helicopters, their operational status remains unclear, and they lack fighter jets or an effective air force.

Pakistan’s armed forces include over 600,000 active personnel, more than 6,000 armored combat vehicles, and over 400 military aircraft, according to 2025 International Institute for Strategic Studies data. Pakistan also maintains nuclear weapons capability.