Pakistani security forces check travelers at a checkpoint in Islamabad.Image: keystone
Islamabad bombed Taliban bases in Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday. As the death toll rises, mediators are pushing for a ceasefire.
Feb 27, 2026, 8:36 p.mFeb 27, 2026, 8:36 p.m
What happened?
Tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have escalated dramatically. After Afghan attacks on Pakistani positions in the border area on Thursday evening, Islamabad carried out air strikes on Kabul and Kandahar on Friday. Both sides reported deaths and injuries. The Taliban demanded a solution through dialogue after the attacks, while Pakistan set conditions for the fighting to stop.
Relations had deteriorated in recent months because of Pakistani allegations that Kabul was harboring terrorists who carried out attacks in Pakistan. Afghanistan rejects this. The conflict flared up again and again militarily, and mediation failed last fall. According to the Taliban, 13 Afghan security forces have been killed and 22 injured since Thursday evening, and there have also been civilian casualties. Pakistan said 274 Afghan fighters were killed and reported 12 soldiers killed and 27 wounded. Taliban spokesman Mujahid threatened further violence, but at the same time emphasized the desire for talks.
Is a quick resolution of the conflict in prospect?
Pakistan did not appear willing to engage in dialogue and called on the Taliban to clearly distance themselves from extremists in the neighboring country. As long as this does not happen, the military operation will continue. An army spokesman demanded that Kabul make a decision between Pakistan and terrorist organizations. Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif even spoke of an “open war”.
The nightly air strikes on Kandahar and Kabul mark a new escalation, as targets inland were also hit for the first time. Kandahar is considered the Taliban’s political and spiritual center of power. Kabul described the attacks as retaliation for previous Pakistani attacks, while Islamabad, for its part, spoke of countermeasures after terrorist attacks that it suspected were masterminded in Afghanistan.
How is the international community reacting?
China, which shares a border with both countries, called for rapid dialogue and a ceasefire. “As a neighbor and friend, China is deeply concerned about the escalation of the conflict,” said Foreign Office spokeswoman Mao Ning in Beijing.
Mediators from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey had pushed for a ceasefire in the past. The Turkish Foreign Minister also spoke to both parties to the conflict in the current conflict. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on countries to de-escalate. The parties should try to resolve all differences through diplomatic channels, Guterres said, according to his spokesman.
What is the conflict about?
Islamabad accuses Kabul of harboring terrorists who carry out attacks in Pakistan. Kabul denies this. In particular, the group Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) – widely known as the Pakistani Taliban – and a regional branch of the Islamic State (IS) have been carrying out more and more attacks in Pakistan for years.
According to the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, the number of terrorist attacks in Pakistan rose to nearly 700 in 2025, an increase of 34 percent from the previous year. Around 300 of the attacks are attributed to the TTP. Hundreds of people were killed. Responding to the allegations from Islamabad, Mujahid said on Friday that the TTP was “Pakistan’s internal security problem, which has existed for years and has nothing to do with Afghanistan.”
What’s next?
Further security measures were taken in Pakistan on Friday. In Islamabad, authorities banned all drone flights. The alert has been raised in several cities across the country. In Peshawar in the north near the Afghan border, hospitals were preparing for victims of possible attacks. (aargauerzeitung.ch)