Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan intensified sharply on Friday, February 27, 2026, with Pakistani air force jets striking locations in the Afghan capital of Kabul and other provinces just hours after Afghan forces launched cross-border attacks on Pakistani positions, making a Qatar-mediated ceasefire unstable.
Afghanistan’s government spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, confirmed that Pakistan carried out airstrikes early Friday in Kabul, southern Kandahar and the eastern Paktia province, though he said there were no immediate reports of civilian casualties. According to Afghan statements, retaliatory ground operations were also launched against Pakistani military posts following the airstrikes.
#Pakistan military operation against #Afghanistan..#LatestVideo pic.twitter.com/jJKrN62tOB
— Kashmir News Trust༝ (@kntnewsagency) February 27, 2026
The exchanges followed a major offensive by Afghan forces late Thursday, which Kabul said was in response to earlier Pakistani strikes along the border that had targeted militant positions but were widely condemned in Afghanistan as violations of sovereignty. During Thursday’s operations, Afghan officials claimed to have captured multiple Pakistani army posts and inflicted casualties, a claim Islamabad rejected while maintaining its actions were defensive.
In Islamabad, Pakistani officials described Thursday’s Afghan attacks as unprovoked and affirmed that their counter-actions, including the airstrikes, were part of a coordinated operation dubbed “Operation Ghazab lil-Haq” aimed at militant infrastructure. Pakistani authorities reported significant militant losses, while Afghan accounts said eight of their soldiers were killed and 11 wounded in clashes along the border.
The rapid escalation has drawn international concern as repeated clashes along the roughly 2,600-kilometre frontier threaten broader destabilisation. Both sides have accused the other of initiating hostilities while defending their security interests.
