Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that Pakistan had bombed Kandahar and other areas, including the Afghan capital Kabul.
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| Can the Taliban face the Pakistani army? What is their military capability? |
Meanwhile, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declared war against the Afghan Taliban.
These two countries have been attacking each other for a few days.
"Pakistan knows very well where the terrorist forces, their supporters and those who nurture them are. If terrorist activities continue, they will not be spared under any circumstances," Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said recently.
After the Taliban seized power in August 2021, Pakistan launched airstrikes on Kabul and other areas, leading to border clashes.
Pakistan has often accused the banned TTP of being supported by the Afghan Taliban government. However, the Taliban, which denies Pakistan's allegations, calls it an internal Pakistani issue.
A ceasefire was brokered by Qatar and Turkey after border clashes between the two countries last year.
However, the latest tensions have further worsened already strained relations.
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Taliban, airstrikesPhoto source,SANAULLAH SEIAM/AFP via Getty Images
'War may not happen'
Iftikhar Firdous, an analyst on Afghan affairs and senior journalist with the 'Khorasan Diary', told BBC Urdu, "This is a recurring cycle of Pakistani attacks, Afghan Taliban attacks, tensions erupting on the border, and then talks starting. The same thing will repeat itself."
Iftikhar Firdous said that fighting a conventional war requires military capability, air resources, supply chains, and well-trained soldiers. Therefore, it is impossible for the Taliban to fight a war with Pakistan.
"Given the Afghan economic situation and current military resources, this time the retaliation may be a bit more serious than the destructive activities," he said.
Iftikhar said the Taliban would definitely respond very soon because it was a matter of their honor. However, he said a full-scale war was unlikely.
Dr. Khurram Iqbal, an associate professor of Intelligence and Security Studies at Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad, told the BBC that Pakistan had used all peaceful means to convince the Afghan Taliban to take action against the TTP.
He said that the concerns raised by Pakistan about TTP bases in Afghanistan have been acknowledged by the United Nations as well as several international organizations.
"UN reports have made it clear not once, but three times since 2023 that TTP bases exist in Afghanistan. Only after all efforts were made peacefully, did Pakistan have to use security forces," he said.
Dr. Khurram Iqbal said, "We are seeing serious problems in Afghanistan, both administratively, economically and socially. According to international surveys, eight out of ten families are selling their household goods to survive."
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Taliban, airstrikesPhoto source,ISPR
"When they fail to resolve the internal problems in Afghanistan, the Taliban try to divert public attention. That is, they show that the problems are coming from outside. Tensions with Pakistan serve to promote their unity internally and to divert attention from the problems. That is why they want these tensions to continue."
The second reason is more realistic, he said. "There is also a fear that if the Afghan Taliban takes action against the TTP, TTP fighters may defect to IS. That has happened in the past. This is also a reason why the Taliban is not willing to take action against the TTP," he said.
What can the Afghan Taliban do?
"Although there is nothing new in the situation between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Taliban have opportunities like the TTP. They can use the TTP to target populated areas in Pakistan," Iftikhar Firdous said.
Dr. Khurram Iqbal also agrees with Iftikhar on the Taliban's capabilities and the potential for retaliation. He says the Taliban lack the capacity to confront Pakistan in a conventional war, so they may adopt unconventional tactics as they have done in the past.
"Terrorist attacks may increase in major cities in Pakistan. Violence is likely to increase in urban areas," he said.
Dr. Khurram Iqbal believes that the Taliban, which is in serious financial difficulties, is not in a position to endure a full-scale war with Pakistan.
He said that there could be limited clashes and some attacks on the Pakistan-Afghan border in the coming days. He also said that there could be serious statements, arguments and accusations from both sides.
"The Taliban have done this in the past when tensions have risen to send a message to the public that they have taken revenge. This time too, they may use weapons at the border in moderation," he said.
Taliban government forces have three main types of weapons: weapons and equipment from the previous Afghan army, weapons left in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of foreign forces, including the US, and new weapons acquired by the Taliban from the black market.
According to experts, videos of past border clashes show that Taliban fighters have used light weapons against Pakistan, with little evidence of heavy or long-range weapons.
According to reports by the US Special Inspector General for Reconstruction and the Department of Defense, the previous Afghan government received more than 1.6 million light and heavy weapons and various military equipment in the past twenty years. 70 percent of these weapons, or more than 1 million weapons, ended up in the hands of the Taliban.
Light weapons in the hands of the current Taliban government forces include Kalashnikovs and light machine guns such as the American M16, M4, and M29.
These include heavy machine guns like the Pika M2 and M240, grenade launchers, rocket launchers like the RPG 7 and AT 4, and anti-tank missiles.
According to reports released by the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, heavily armed vehicles, ships, and heavy military equipment that the US had provided to the previous Afghan government army also fell into the hands of the Taliban.
Among these heavy weapons are 122mm howitzers known as the D30. It is estimated that between 100 and 120 of these guns are still in Afghan hands.
Apart from these, the Taliban also have several Russian weapons such as 155 mm howitzer mortars and ZT23-2.
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Taliban, airstrikesPhoto source,AFP via Getty Images
The Taliban government displayed heavy weapons at Bagram Air Base during a military parade in 2024. These included the Scud missile R-17 and the Elbros R-300. These can hit targets at a range of about 300 kilometers.
These include the Luna missile (six-mile range weapon, launching system) known as Frog 7, the Grad rocket launcher, the Milan anti-tank missile, and the Argon missiles, which can reach targets up to a range of 35 kilometers.
Such weapons have not been used for the past three decades. Some of them are stored in the godowns of the Ministry of Defense, others in the Panjshir mountains.
The Taliban's Ministry of Defense has claimed that some of these weapons have been activated. However, their technical condition and whether they are ready for use are unclear.
Compared to the Afghan interim government, Pakistan's main advantage is its air force and modern fighter jets. The Taliban does not have an air force to counter this.
The Taliban government repaired many helicopters captured from the previous government and also trained many pilots.
According to Afghan security expert Bismillah Taban, the US did not equip the Afghan air force before its withdrawal and also destroyed its stockpiles of air weapons.
"That's why the Taliban don't have air-to-air weapons," said Taban.
According to a US Department of Defense report, the aircraft captured by the Taliban include C-208 aircraft, MD 530 helicopters, Black Hawk helicopters, A-29 aircraft, Mi-17 transport helicopters, Mi-24 combat helicopters, and MD 500 light attack helicopters.
The Taliban government's Defense Ministry claims to have about 60 ships and helicopters.
However, the Taliban have extensive experience in guerrilla warfare. They have fought against US, NATO and Afghan forces for nearly two decades. Experts say this experience remains the backbone of their military strategy today.
Bismillah Taban told the BBC that clashes on the Pakistan-Afghan border in October 2025, videos of recent clashes and other evidence suggest that the Taliban are still fighting like a lightly armed guerrilla group, rather than like a national army.
In this strategy, surprise attacks with weapons are carried out.
A Taliban commander involved in clashes with Pakistan, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Taliban forces "focused mostly on guerrilla tactics. We had good experience with them. However, they also used regular military units from time to time."
He explained that the primary goal is to maintain control over their territories and posts. "Orders come from the center, but commanders have full authority to make decisions based on the situation at the border," he said.
However, security expert Amir Rana told the BBC that the Taliban have not been able to transform their guerrilla group into a regular army, which is why they are following their old guerrilla warfare tactics.
(Collective Newsroom publication for the BBC)
