Fears of an all-out war breaking out between Afghanistan and Pakistan are rising after the Taliban sent troops to the border as the two countries continue to trade deadly attacks.
The Afghan Taliban have unleashed a series of devastating artillery attacks on Pakistani military checkpoints along the tense border, raising fears of a full-blown conflict between the two neighbors.
The hardline Islamist group boasted of having destroyed “several” Pakistani positions and mobilized battalions of fighters to confront any retaliation from Islamabad, in a chilling show of force.
The attacks come in response to Pakistani airstrikes against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an ally of the Afghan Taliban, in eastern Afghanistan.
Local Afghan officials claimed the attacks killed 46 civilians, including women and children, further escalating tensions.
In response, the Afghan government promised “retaliation” on Saturday, and Afghan Taliban forces claimed to have attacked “several points” near the Durand Line, the disputed border between the two nations.
In a chilling statement to The telegraphTaliban officials declared they were prepared for the conflict with Pakistan to escalate further, raising fears that the region is moving closer to war.
“We don’t care if they have a nuclear bomb; we have faith and we know that God is with us,” said a senior Taliban official.
The Afghan Taliban have unleashed a series of devastating artillery attacks on Pakistani military checkpoints along the tense border.
Taliban security personnel gather at the site two days after Pakistani airstrikes in Barmal district of eastern Paktika province on December 26, 2024.
Pakistani airstrikes in an eastern border region of Afghanistan killed 46 civilians, the Taliban government said on December 25.
Taliban security personnel stand watch from helicopter two days after Pakistan airstrikes
The Taliban have vowed to stand firm against any retaliatory attack from Pakistan, with Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry on high alert and additional forces ready to reinforce the volatile border.
The Taliban foreign minister warned Pakistan over the weekend, urging Pakistani authorities not to “underestimate our capabilities.”
“We will not forget Pakistan’s benevolence during the time of jihad, but we will also not forget Pakistan’s aggression on Afghan soil today,” Amir Khan Muttaqi said.
“I have a message for the Pakistani authorities: do not think that we are weak and do not attack us,” he added. “We are having difficulties but we are very brave.”
But in a dramatic turn, Islamabad finds itself at odds with the very group it once supported.
Pakistan had covertly backed the Afghan Taliban during the US-led war in Afghanistan, hoping to secure influence in the region.
However, the fallout from the Taliban’s return to power has intensified Pakistan’s long battle against the TTP.
The TTP, emboldened by weapons allegedly given to them by the Afghan Taliban (many confiscated from retreating US forces), has launched a wave of deadly attacks on Pakistani soil since the Taliban took Kabul in 2021.
Pakistan’s military leaders had bet that their former allies would help suppress the TTP, but instead they now face a fierce double threat.
“The mujahideen successfully attacked and destroyed several enemy positions and caused significant damage,” said a senior Taliban Defense Ministry official, referring to the weekend attacks.
‘Several areas were attacked with artillery and we have destroyed many of their checkpoints and equipment. “They should know that they cannot violate our sovereignty.”
“Several battalions have been sent to the border and we are prepared for anything; we did not expel NATO just to be intimidated or humiliated by the Punjabis,” he said.
A Pakistani security official said the bombing targeted “terrorist hideouts.”
The Taliban foreign minister warned Pakistan over the weekend, urging Pakistani authorities not to “underestimate our capabilities.”
The Taliban have vowed to stand firm against any retaliatory attack from Pakistan, with Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry on high alert and additional forces prepared to reinforce the volatile border.
Pakistan has accused Kabul of allowing militants to cross the border unchecked, a charge firmly denied by the Afghan Taliban, who insist they have not allowed any attacks to be launched from their territory.
The escalating crisis has sparked international alarm, and Russia intervened on Sunday to urge both sides to exercise restraint.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow was “deeply concerned” about the situation and called for a “constructive dialogue” to calm tensions.
But signs of greater conflict loom large.
A Taliban Interior Ministry official revealed to the newspaper that Kabul was evaluating its next moves in case of more Pakistani attacks.
Meanwhile, social media accounts linked to the Taliban have been sharing videos of troop movements near the border, in an apparent show of force.
A striking clip shows Soviet-era tanks, relics of the USSR’s failed invasion of Afghanistan, being transported to the front.
Another video shows NATO military vehicles, abandoned during the US withdrawal, now reportedly on the move to reinforce Taliban forces.
In a defiant official statement, the Taliban claimed responsibility for attacking “several points that served as centers and hideouts for malicious elements and their supporters” across the border in Pakistan.
The group’s use of the term “hypothetical line” referred to the long-disputed border, dismissing Pakistan’s territorial claims.
The situation remains volatile with both sides preparing for further escalation in a dangerous clash of wills that threatens to destabilize the region.
The terrorist group has historically maintained strong relations with Pakistan and analysts believe that without the country’s support, the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan would have been unlikely.
But the relationship between the two neighbors has deteriorated in the last three years and numerous cross-border clashes have emerged.