New Delhi: As border tensions between Islamabad and Kabul mounted, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday sounded a stern warning to Afghanistan, stating that his country’s armed forces can “crush” aggressors. His comments hours after Pakistan pounded targets inside Afghanistan’s major cities overnight.
What Shehbaz Sharif said
As per the Pakistani government’s X official handle, Sharif said: “Our forces have the full capability to crush any aggressive ambitions.”
He added: “The entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the Pakistan armed forces.”
On Friday morning, Pakistan carried out bombings in Kabul and Kandahar after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops on Thursday night.
Both Pakistan and Afghanistan claimed to have killed dozens of soldiers in the fresh spike in border violence. The latest violence comes after a series of Pakistani strikes on Afghanistan border areas and clashes along the boundary in recent months.
Earlier on Friday, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif declared open war against Afghanistan. “Our patience has reached its limit. Now it is open war between us and you,” he wrote on X.
Pakistan claims 133 Afghan Taliban fighters killed
Meanwhile, Pakistani government spokesperson Mosharraf Zaidi claimed that 133 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and over 200 wounded, with 27 posts destroyed and nine captured.
On Sunday, Pakistani forces launched strikes on Nangarhar and Paktika provinces. The attacks, according to the UN mission in Afghanistan, said claimed the lives of at least 13 civilians.