Dozens Killed and Thousands Displaced in Growing Pakistan-Afghan Border Conflict

Amid the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, Pakistan's recent assertiveness against the Taliban also serves as a message to the West.

While the U.S. and Israel continue a massive bombing campaign targeting Iran, another conflict continues to escalate nearby between Pakistan and Afghanistan. In recent weeks, the two countries have gone from border skirmishes to what senior Pakistani officials have described as “open war”—with airstrikes and bombardments targeting military positions and civilian communities in both countries.

The escalation comes amid increasingly warm ties between the Trump administration and the military junta in Islamabad, which has pitched itself as a regional security partner for Washington after its withdrawal from Afghanistan five years ago. This relationship has continued to grow despite escalating pressure on Pakistan over its crackdown on the rule of law, media freedom, and ongoing suppression of political opposition movements.

Afghanistan and Pakistan both share borders with Iran, and the outcome of the war between them is likely to shape postwar developments in Iran as it fights for survival under a joint U.S.-Israeli military assault.

The following dispatch by Emran Feroz describes the ongoing impact and historic origin of this conflict. We can’t produce this kind of journalism without your support. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber or making a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible donation today.

Also on Drop Site today, Waqas Ahmed and I report on a leaked letter from the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group summoning Pakistan’s prime minister to answer for several recent authoritarian measures in Pakistan. The meeting, which will be attended by Pakistan’s high commissioner due to the Iran war, is planned for Saturday.

—Murtaza Hussain

Afghan men gather to show their solidarity for Taliban personnel in Gardez, in Paktia province, on March 4, 2026 amid ongoing cross-border conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Photo by AFP via Getty Images.

“Even after iftar we could still hear the fighting. Pakistani jets keep circling above us,” said Mohammad Alam, a 38-year-old former NGO worker, on the phone from Kabul. It was late evening, shortly after the daily breaking of the fast during Ramadan. Such nights in Afghanistan are usually lively—families visiting each other, tea houses open late, children playing in courtyards. This year, he told Drop Site News, the soundscape has changed. Almost five years after the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces, above the rooftops of Kabul fighter jets and drones have become a familiar presence again.

This time, the jets and drones are Pakistani. In Afghanistan’s eastern provinces—Kunar, Khost, Paktia, and Nangarhar—residents report artillery fire and aircraft passing overhead. Especially along the so-called Durand Line, the disputed border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, clashes have intensified in recent days.

“It was very loud. Rockets hit near our house in western Kabul,” said Abdul Rauf, a man in his late twenties who lives not far from the historic Dar-ul-Aman Palace, describing an attack in the early hours of Friday, February 27. According to multiple residents and local journalists, Pakistani fighter jets struck several targets across Afghanistan, including locations in Kabul, Kandahar, and the eastern province of Paktia. Near the palace in western Kabul, witnesses reported powerful explosions and shockwaves that rattled windows. Videos circulating online showed aircraft flying low over the city.

“Everyone knew immediately that something serious had happened,” said Marouf Khan, who lives in the neighborhood. “People said the war had returned.”

Islamabad quickly confirmed the operation. Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declared war and said that his country’s “patience” had run out. He also framed the attack as one that Islamabad had been forced to make, and that followed Afghanistan’s “aggression”—a narrative that was also supported by U.S. President Donald Trump. When he was asked about the operations, Trump answered that “Pakistan has the right to defend itself.” The strikes, officials said, targeted facilities linked to militant groups operating from Afghan territory.

In Kabul, the Taliban authorities condemned the attacks as a violation of Afghan sovereignty. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that fighting was taking place along several parts of the border. Independent casualty figures from the February 27 strikes remain difficult to verify. A local journalist in Kandahar told Drop Site that civilians in his area had not been directly affected, though residents fear that further escalation could change that quickly.

A week earlier, on the night of February 22, Pakistani aircraft had bombed targets in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, while additional explosions were reported in Paktika. Islamabad said those strikes targeted positions of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the militant movement often referred to as the Pakistani Taliban, as well as the Afghan branch of the so-called Islamic State, Islamic State–Khorasan Province (ISKP).

Both groups have carried out a series of deadly attacks inside Pakistan in recent months. Among them was a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad earlier in February that killed dozens of worshippers. Pakistani officials argue that these militants operate from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan and accuse the Taliban authorities in Kabul of failing to dismantle their networks.

Officials in Kabul said the attacks had killed civilians rather than militants. The United Nations later confirmed that at least 13 civilians, including women and children, were killed during the bombings, while several others were injured. Local journalists and officials in Nangarhar suggested that the real number of casualties may be higher. Photographs from affected villages showed destroyed homes and frightened families digging through rubble.

Restoring “Deterrence”

For the Taliban leadership, the incident was more than just a cross-border strike. It was a direct challenge to their authority. “Last night, they bombed our civilian compatriots in Nangarhar and in Paktika provinces, murdering and wounding dozens of people, including women and children,” Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahed said on X.

On February 26, Taliban fighters reportedly attacked several Pakistani border posts along the frontier. The Taliban also claimed it used commercial drones to attack targets in Islamabad, which lies more than 100 miles away from the border, although no evidence has emerged for this claim. Taliban officials described the operation as retaliation for earlier Pakistani airstrikes. According to Taliban statements, their units shelled multiple outposts and briefly took control of some positions along the border. Images and videos circulating on social media appeared to show destroyed vehicles and captured Pakistani soldiers, though the material could not be independently verified.

Pakistan acknowledged attacks on its border forces and announced a new military operation aimed at restoring what officials called “deterrence.” Pakistani media reported that the armed forces had been authorized to respond with large-scale air and artillery strikes against militant targets across the border.

The Taliban has rejected accusations of harboring the TTP and ISKP, and the escalation has continued. Heavy fighting and airstrikes were reported on the night of March 2 in the southeastern province of Khost. According to local sources in the districts of Ali Sher and Zazai Maidan, at least 20 civilians were killed, many of them children. Residents and journalists on the ground shared photographs with Drop Site showing destroyed houses as well as wounded and dead civilians lying in the rubble. Independent verification of the exact casualty figures remains difficult, but multiple sources in the region confirmed that entire families were affected.

“The situation is very bad. Many civilians have been hit directly and the resources to help them are very limited or simply don’t exist,” Mohammad Zaman, a local journalist from Khost, told Drop Site.

Further north, in the provincial capital of Asadabad in Kunar province, locals said that several strikes and clashes in recent days caused 13 civilian casualties and widespread destruction. “Many civilians were killed and many others lost their homes,” Sher Agha, a resident and local activist, told Drop Site. Other districts were reportedly hit as well.

The UN now reports at least 146 civilian casualties, including 42 deaths, occurred in Afghanistan between February 26 and March 2. The Taliban has reported 110 civilian casualties, including 65 women and children, and that 8,400 people have become internally displaced.

For the growing number of internally displaced families fleeing the violence, the prospect of a secure future appears increasingly distant. Families in some villages have begun moving out of fear that further strikes could hit populated areas. In Kabul, reports circulated over the weekend that Pakistani aircraft had also targeted the Bagram area north of the capital, where America’s largest abandoned military base in Afghanistan lies.

A colonial legacy

For more than a century, successive Afghan governments have rejected the Durand Line, which was created by British colonial authorities, as a legitimate international boundary. Monarchists, communist regimes, and Islamist leaders alike have all expressed reservations or outright opposition to it. Former presidents Hamid Karzai and Ashraf Ghani repeatedly avoided formally recognizing the border. The Taliban, whose movement is dominated by Pashtuns, have taken a similar position.

For Pakistan, however, the border is settled and non-negotiable. The dispute has led to frequent clashes, particularly in recent years after Pakistan began constructing fences and new military posts along the frontier to prevent militant infiltration. Taliban fighters have repeatedly torn down sections of the barrier, arguing that it divides communities and tribal lands.

Ideological proximity plays a role: both the Afghan Taliban and the TTP share similar militant Islamist roots. Historical ties also matter. During the two decades of war against NATO forces and the former Afghan government, many Taliban fighters found refuge in Pakistan’s tribal areas along the border. Networks linked to Pakistan’s powerful intelligence service provided logistical support and sanctuary.

For years, parts of Pakistan’s security establishment viewed the Afghan Taliban as a useful strategic partner. During the two-decade NATO presence in Afghanistan, Taliban fighters were widely believed to have received support and sanctuary across the border. The idea was that a friendly regime in Kabul would provide Pakistan with strategic depth and counter the influence of rival powers such as India.

When the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, many analysts predicted that Pakistan’s influence in Afghanistan would grow significantly.

Now, what once served as a strategic partnership has turned into a dangerous conflict.

“How much Pakistan’s stance toward the Taliban has shifted is reflected in a statement from its Foreign Ministry last October expressing hope that the Afghan people will one day be liberated and governed by a ‘truly representative government,’” said Thomas Ruttig, a senior Afghanistan researcher and former co-director of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. The conflict also has regional dimensions, Ruttig said: “Minister Khawaja accuses Pakistan’s rival India of supporting TTP and ISIS through Afghanistan and claims the Taliban have turned Afghanistan into ‘a colony of India.’”

Islamabad now finds itself facing rising militant violence at home. The TTP insurgency has intensified, carrying out attacks against security forces and civilians across the country.

Pakistan has repeatedly demanded that the Taliban government take decisive action against the TTP. Islamabad claims that TTP fighters use eastern Afghanistan as a safe haven from which they plan and launch attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban deny providing systematic support to the group, but they have also refused to disarm or extradite its members.

In recent weeks, Taliban officials signaled that they would support Iran if the country was attacked by the United States or Israel. Some analysts believe Pakistan’s recent assertiveness may also be aimed at demonstrating its strategic importance to Western security planners, though there is no official confirmation of such calculations.

Whether the current confrontation will remain a limited exchange of military pressure or evolve into a longer and more dangerous conflict remains unclear. Both governments face domestic pressures: Pakistan is dealing with growing militant attacks, while the Taliban leadership cannot afford to appear weak in the face of foreign airstrikes.

The Taliban, meanwhile, continues to deny that Afghanistan is being used as a base by terrorist groups to launch attacks against Pakistan—pointing the blame at Islamabad for using them as scapegoats for their internal security problems.

“Whenever an attack occurs inside Pakistan, they immediately blame Afghanistan without presenting any evidence,” said Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. “TTP does not have a presence in Afghanistan. These are Pakistan’s internal problems. They control large areas inside Pakistan itself and have no need for Afghan territory, and we would never allow such activities.”