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Taliban & terror: How Pakistan came to declare ‘open war’ on Afghanistan

February 28, 2026 5 min read International Relations Internal Security GS2 GS3
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What Happened

  • Pakistan's Defense Minister declared "open war" on Afghanistan after a significant escalation of cross-border strikes in late February 2026, with Pakistan conducting airstrikes in Kabul and two other Afghan provinces.
  • The immediate trigger was an Afghan attack on Pakistan in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes on February 22, 2026 that targeted alleged Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP) camps in Afghan border territory.
  • Pakistan's military operation, dubbed "Operation Ghazab Lil Haq" (Fury of Truth), aimed at TTP and ISKP sanctuaries that Pakistan accuses the Taliban government of providing, enabling attacks on Pakistani soil.
  • Pakistan's military spokesperson claimed 274 Taliban officials and militants had been killed since Thursday night, while Pakistan suffered at least 12 soldiers killed; casualties could not be independently verified.
  • A Qatar- and Turkey-brokered truce had recently lapsed before the latest escalation; Iran and Russia urged immediate restraint and offered to facilitate dialogue.

Static Topic Bridges

TTP — Origins, Ideology, and the Pakistan-Afghanistan Nexus

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), formed in 2007 under the leadership of Baitullah Mehsud, is an alliance of Pakistani militant groups that has waged an insurgency against the Pakistani state. Despite sharing ideological roots and ethnic Pashtun identity with the Afghan Taliban, the TTP operates against the Pakistani government — a crucial distinction between the two movements.

  • Founded: 2007; primary goal — overthrow of the Pakistani state and imposition of their interpretation of Sharia law.
  • Ethnic base: Predominantly drawn from Pashtun tribal communities in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and former FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas, now merged into KP).
  • TTP is designated a terrorist organization by Pakistan, the US, and the UN (under UNSC Resolution 1267 sanctions list).
  • The TTP has been responsible for thousands of attacks across Pakistan, including the 2014 Army Public School massacre in Peshawar (141 people killed, 132 of them children) — the deadliest terrorist attack in Pakistani history.
  • After 2021: Following the Afghan Taliban's takeover of Kabul, the TTP significantly intensified attacks on Pakistani security forces, using Afghan territory as a safe haven to regroup and rearm.
  • The Afghan Taliban and TTP share deep historical, ideological, and personal ties — many Afghan Taliban leaders sheltered in Pakistan's tribal areas for years; Afghan Taliban leadership has been reluctant to act against TTP, viewing it as an ally.

Connection to this news: The Pakistani strikes are a direct consequence of the Afghan Taliban refusing or being unable to curb TTP operations from Afghan soil — a fundamental disagreement that has brought the two neighbors to the brink of open war.

The Durand Line — A Colonial Border Dispute at the Root of Conflict

The Durand Line, drawn in 1893 as part of an agreement between British India's Foreign Secretary Sir Mortimer Durand and the Afghan Amir Abdur Rahman Khan, divides the Pashtun ethnic homeland between modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan. Afghanistan has never formally recognized it as an international border.

  • The 2,640 km line runs through mountainous terrain, dividing Pashtun tribal communities — the same communities from which both the Afghan Taliban and TTP draw their membership.
  • Afghanistan's constitutional position: The Afghan government (both pre-Taliban and Taliban governments) has consistently refused to recognize the Durand Line as a permanent international boundary, claiming territories up to the Indus River as historically Afghan.
  • The porous border has historically allowed militants, refugees, weapons, and narcotics to flow in both directions, making effective border management extremely difficult.
  • Pakistan's border fencing project: Since 2017, Pakistan has been constructing a fence along the Durand Line — Afghanistan strongly opposes this fencing, viewing it as an attempt to permanently fix an illegitimate border.
  • The dispute is not merely territorial — it is ethnic and nationalist. Pashtunistan movement advocates for a separate Pashtun homeland, an idea that has historically received some sympathy in Kabul but is anathema to Islamabad.

Connection to this news: Pakistan's airstrikes on Afghan territory reflect a fundamental breakdown — Islamabad sees the uncontrolled Durand Line border and the Taliban's sanctuary for TTP as an existential security threat; Kabul sees Pakistani strikes as violations of sovereignty of a country it doesn't fully recognize as a legitimate neighbor.

ISKP (Islamic State – Khorasan Province) and Regional Security

The Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISKP, also written IS-K) is the South Asian affiliate of the Islamic State, operating primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It emerged in 2015 and is designated as a terrorist organization globally.

  • Founded: January 2015; named after the historical "Khorasan" region covering parts of modern Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, and Central Asia.
  • Ideology: Salafi-jihadist, considers the Afghan Taliban insufficiently radical and is in open armed conflict with the Taliban government.
  • Key attacks: January 2023 bombing of the Pakistan Foreign Ministry compound in Kabul; August 2021 Kabul airport bombing (180+ killed including 13 US service members); multiple attacks in Iran and Central Asian states.
  • ISKP poses a threat to the entire region — Taliban, Pakistan, Iran, Central Asian states, and Russia have all experienced ISKP-linked attacks.
  • The Taliban government in Kabul claims to be fighting ISKP and has conducted operations against it, but Pakistan disputes the effectiveness of these efforts.
  • India has been alert to ISKP's stated intentions — the group has occasionally referenced India in its propaganda targeting Kashmiri Muslims.

Connection to this news: Pakistan's stated justification for airstrikes includes ISKP targets alongside TTP, suggesting the operation was partly designed to address the broader Islamist militant ecosystem in eastern Afghanistan — but this framing is contested by Afghanistan, which denies harboring these groups.

Key Facts & Data

  • TTP founded: 2007; founder Baitullah Mehsud (killed in US drone strike 2009).
  • 2014 Army Public School attack (Peshawar): 141 killed, 132 children — deadliest terrorist attack in Pakistani history; carried out by TTP.
  • Durand Line: 2,640 km long; drawn 1893; Afghanistan has never formally recognized it as an international border.
  • Pakistan's Durand Line fencing project: begun 2017; opposed by Afghanistan.
  • ISKP founded: January 2015; IS affiliate in Khorasan region (Afghanistan-Pakistan-Iran-Central Asia).
  • Pakistan designated TTP a terrorist organization; also listed under UNSC 1267 sanctions.
  • Operation Ghazab Lil Haq: Pakistan's name for the February 2026 military offensive.
  • Pakistan military claims: 274 Taliban/militant casualties; Pakistan losses: at least 12 soldiers killed.
  • Qatar and Turkey had brokered a truce that lapsed before the February 2026 escalation.
  • India's concern: ISKP propaganda has occasionally referenced India and Kashmiri Muslims.