GS Papers: GS2, GS3
What Happened
Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif declared on February 27, 2026, that Pakistan and Afghanistan are now in "open war," following a dramatic escalation along the Durand Line — the internationally recognised but domestically disputed border between the two countries. Pakistani forces launched "Operation Righteous Fury" (Ghazab Lil Haqq), conducting air and missile strikes against cities including Kabul and Kandahar, as well as targeting positions in Paktia province, after the Afghan Taliban announced large-scale offensive operations against Pakistani military outposts along the border.
The crisis represents the collapse of a relationship that was once strategically symbiotic. Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was instrumental in the Taliban's founding in 1994 and consistently provided the group with sanctuary, funding, and logistical support through the US occupation of Afghanistan (2001-2021). Pakistan's strategic logic was rooted in the concept of "strategic depth" — using Afghanistan as a rear base in any future conflict with India, and maintaining a pliant Afghan government that would not challenge Pakistan's western flank. The Taliban's return to power in August 2021 was initially welcomed in Islamabad.
However, the Taliban government swiftly demonstrated that it would not be subordinate to Pakistani interests. The core tension emerged over the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an anti-Pakistan militant group sheltered on Afghan soil. Despite repeated Pakistani demands, the Taliban government refused to dismantle TTP networks, insisting the matter was Pakistan's internal problem. TTP attacks inside Pakistan escalated sharply from 2022 onwards. On February 22, 2026, Pakistan launched air strikes against TTP camps, triggering Afghan retaliation and the current escalation.
Static Topic Bridges
1. The Durand Line and Its Contested Status
The Durand Line was drawn in 1893 by British diplomat Sir Mortimer Durand and Afghan Emir Abdur Rahman Khan as the boundary between British India and Afghanistan. The line divided Pashtun and Baloch tribal communities across two sides of the border. When Pakistan was created in 1947, it inherited the Durand Line as its western boundary, but Afghanistan refused to recognise it, claiming the Pashtun territories on Pakistan's side should form an independent "Pashtunistan." The Taliban government has never formally accepted the Durand Line, and its forces periodically demolish border fencing erected by Pakistan. This unresolved border question is both the historical root and the immediate flashpoint of the current conflict.
2. Strategic Depth Doctrine and Its Failure
"Strategic depth" is a Pakistani military doctrine, most associated with General Mirza Aslam Beg (Army Chief 1988-1991), which argued that Pakistan needed a friendly, pliant Afghanistan as a rear strategic base to offset India's numerical military superiority. In the event of an Indian advance from the east, Pakistani forces could fall back into Afghan territory and regroup. This doctrine led Pakistan's ISI to sponsor the Afghan Taliban from 1994 onwards, provide sanctuary during the US occupation, and push for a Taliban political settlement after 2001. The doctrine proved strategically flawed: the Taliban, once in power, prioritised Afghan sovereignty and Pashtun ethnic solidarity over Pakistani strategic interests, and provided sanctuary to the TTP — Pakistan's own internal insurgency.
3. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — The Core Dispute
The TTP was founded in 2007 as an umbrella of Pakistani militant groups seeking to overthrow the Pakistani state and impose their interpretation of Islamic law. Though ideologically aligned with the Afghan Taliban, the TTP targets Pakistan's military, police, and civilian institutions. The Afghan Taliban have blood and ideological ties to the TTP and have refused Pakistani demands to extradite or neutralise TTP leadership. TTP attacks inside Pakistan increased by over 70% between 2022 and 2025, with major operations in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Pakistan's strikes on February 22 targeted TTP training camps in Afghan provinces of Khost and Paktika. The TTP issue is structurally irresolvable as long as the Taliban government views the group as a partner rather than a problem.
4. India's Strategic Interests in the Af-Pak Conflict
The Pakistan-Afghanistan crisis has significant implications for India. India has historically maintained developmental and diplomatic ties with Afghanistan — investing over USD 3 billion in infrastructure (roads, the Salma Dam, the Afghan Parliament building) and people-to-people links. The Taliban government has been cold toward India. However, India's primary interest in the current conflict is Pakistan's strategic distraction on its western front. Pakistan's military resources being channelled toward Afghanistan reduce pressure on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir. Additionally, the collapse of Pakistan's "strategic depth" doctrine represents a long-term weakening of a hostile neighbour's geostrategic position. India should also monitor Afghanistan as a potential sanctuary for anti-India groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, whose relationship with both the Taliban and TTP remains murky.
Key Facts & Data
- Durand Line: Drawn 1893; 2,640 km long; separates Pakistan and Afghanistan; never formally accepted by any Afghan government
- Taliban returned to power: August 2021, after US military withdrawal
- TTP founded: 2007; designated a terrorist organisation by Pakistan, US, and UN
- Operation Righteous Fury (Ghazab Lil Haqq): Pakistan's military operation launched February 2026 targeting TTP positions inside Afghanistan
- Cities struck by Pakistan: Kabul, Kandahar, and positions in Paktia province
- India invested over USD 3 billion in Afghanistan development projects before Taliban takeover
- Pakistan-Afghanistan trade: Estimated USD 2.4 billion annually before the current crisis
- Afghanistan is landlocked — Pakistan controls its primary access route to the Arabian Sea (Karachi port)
- Pashtunistan demand: Longstanding Afghan position seeking to unite Pashtun territories divided by Durand Line
- SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) counts both Pakistan and Afghanistan as members/observers — conflict complicates regional forum