Pakistan has bombed Afghanistan’s capital Kabul as well as two other provinces on Friday, after the Afghan Taliban announced a major offensive against Pakistani military posts near the border on Thursday night.
Several Pakistani ministers have praised the actions of their armed forces including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who said his country’s forces are able to “crush” its foes while the defence minister has declared “open war” on the Afghan Taliban.
A spokesperson for the Afghan Taliban says on X it has responded with renewed attacks against Pakistani troops – though the post has now been deleted.
Friday’s events escalated a long-running conflict that has had the UN, China, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia calling on both sides to stop fighting.
Iran has offered to mediate, China has called for dialogue while foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Turkey have called for an end to hostilities in phone calls with their Pakistani counterpart.
BBC
