Pakistan and Afghanistan have continued trading attacks after Pakistan bombed Afghanistan’s two biggest cities in the early hours of Friday.

Both sides have fired shots at each other

Pakistan bombed major Afghan cities and declared "open war" after Afghanistan's Taliban rulers claimed an unprecedented aerial attack on Islamabad.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the U.S. ambassador to Israel’s guidance to embassy staff amid Iran tensions

Pakistan’s ongoing military campaign against Afghanistan, initiated by airstrikes in late February 2026 targeting hideouts of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State–Khorasan Province (ISKP) in Nangarhar,

Pakistani soldiers patrol near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing in Chaman following overnight cross-border fighting between the two countries on Feb. 27, 2026. Credit - Abdul Basit—AFP/Getty Images Pakistan has declared “open war” with the ...

They called Afghanistan ‘the place where empires go to die,’ and Iran is very similar in that terrain. You put boots on the ground in Iran, and we're in for a lot of pain.”

Pakistan and Afghanistan exchanged cross-border attacks overnight in a dramatic escalation of tensions that led Pakistan’s defense minister to say on Friday that the two countries are in a state of “open war.