Pakistan’s defense minister says that there is now 'open war' with Afghanistan after latest strikes
Pakistan’s defense minister says that there is now 'open war' with Afghanistan after latest strikes
Pakistan is in 'open war' with Afghanistan after latest strikes, defense minister says
Pakistan and Afghanistan have traded attacks in a dramatic escalation of tensions between the countries.
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s defense minister early Friday said that his country had run out of “patience” and now considers itself in an “open war” with neighboring Afghanistan after both sides launched strikes following what Islamabad described as an Afghan cross-border attack.
In a post on X, Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said Pakistan had hoped for peace in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of NATO forces and expected the Taliban to focus on the welfare of the Afghan people and regional stability. Instead, he alleged, the Taliban had turned Afghanistan “into a colony of India,” gathered militants from around the world and begun “exporting terrorism.”
“Our patience has now run out. Now it is open war between us,” he said. There has been no reaction from Afghan government officials to Asif’s comments.
Pakistan has frequently accused neighboring India of backing the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army and the Pakistani Taliban, allegations New Delhi denies.