Pakistan’s declaration of an “open war” with Afghanistan must be understood in the context of months of escalating violence, regional analysts have said, describing the latest developments as a significant shift in the nature of the conflict.
Speaking to AnewZ, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chairman of the Department of Politics at the University of Sargodha in Punjab, said the rhetoric follows a series of deadly attacks inside Pakistan that authorities have linked to cross-border militancy.
“We cannot directly go to the statement that this is an open war,” Ahmed said. “You have to go back to the background.”
He pointed to a suicide attack on a district court in Islamabad in November 2025 that killed around a dozen people, followed by a 6 February suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in the capital that left about 31 worshippers dead and many more wounded.
Analysts said subsequent militant attacks near the Afghan border - including a blast that killed two soldiers later in February - contributed to the erosion of Pakistan’s so-called strategic patience and its decision to launch airstrikes inside Afghanistan.
According to Pakistani intelligence assessments cited by Ahmed, at least one of the suicide bombers had travelled from Afghanistan to carry out an attack in Pakistan.
“This is the overall background,” he said, arguing that what Islamabad has described as its “strategic patience” eroded after repeated attacks, ultimately leading to airstrikes inside Afghan territory.
Ahmed said the phrase “open war” signals a qualitative shift in military engagement.
“Previously, Pakistan was attacking militant hideouts of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan inside Afghanistan,” he explained.
“But this time, the difference is that Pakistan is attacking military or brigade headquarters of the Afghan Taliban.”
He added that a key objective of the strikes is the destruction of advanced weaponry left behind by U.S. forces, including small arms equipped with night-vision capabilities that Pakistani officials say have been used in attacks against its forces. Ahmed also linked recent violence in Balochistan to what he described as the circulation of such weapons among militant groups.
“In short, open war means that now Pakistan is targeting military headquarters or assets of the Taliban,” he said.
The escalation has raised concerns about broader regional instability.
Osama Rizvi, founder of Rizvi Insights in Lahore, told AnewZ that while Pakistan has historically positioned itself as committed to coexistence and peace, it views the recent cross-border attacks as a direct challenge to its sovereignty.
“Pakistan has always been for coexistence and peace, but at the same time, we have to defend our sovereignty,” Rizvi said.
He described the latest strikes as “precise” and focused on military hideouts rather than civilians, characterising the operation as a necessary response to mounting security threats.
“I think this will end when it will end. We have just launched a new operation, and we’ll see it through to the end,” Rizvi added.
Beyond the immediate confrontation, Rizvi warned that the developments reflect a broader pattern of volatility.
“This is all about the region and I think it speaks a lot about how 2026 started and how volatile and unstable it will be for the rest of the year,” he said.
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said on Friday (27 February) he had no idea of the crimes Jeffrey Epstein was committing and would not have flown o...
Some of Iran's most highly enriched uranium, close to weapons grade, was stored in an underground area of its nuclear site in Isfahan, the UN nuclear ...
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacu...
Afghan and Pakistani forces traded airstrikes and artillery fire along the Durand Line on Thursday night, killing dozens on both sides, as Pakistan’...
South Korea will soon cease to be one of the few countries where Google Maps does not function fully, after its security-conscious government reversed...
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacuating diplomatic staff amid fears of further instability.
Speaking during a closed-door deposition in New York on Thursday (February), former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she did not “recall” ever meeting the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and had “no knowledge of his crimes”.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their differences through dialogue, offering Tehran’s assistance to facilitate understanding between its eastern neighbours.
Melania Trump, the First Lady of the United States, will chair a session of the United Nations Security Council on Monday in an historic first, becoming the first sitting first lady to preside over a council meeting during Washington’s monthly presidency of the body.
The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state has risen to 46, authorities said, with 21 people still reported missing. The storms triggered landslides and widespread flooding, displacing thousands across Juiz de Fora and Uba.
The situation in Cuba was heating up and called for restraint following a deadly incident involving a Florida-registered speedboat off the coast of the Caribbean island, the Kremlin said on Thursday (26 February).
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran are escalating, with Washington ordering a significant military build-up in the region and multiple countries evacuating diplomatic staff amid fears of further instability.
Syria’s economy is showing clear signs of recovery, with economic activity accelerating in recent months, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday.
Pakistani air strikes hit a weapons depot on the western outskirts of Kabul overnight, triggering hours of secondary explosions that rattled homes across the Afghan capital and left residents fearing further violence.
Pakistani air strikes hit a weapons depot on the western outskirts of Kabul overnight, triggering hours of secondary explosions that rattled homes across the Afghan capital and left residents fearing further violence.
Israeli strikes killed five people in Gaza on Thursday (26 February), according to health officials in the territory. The Israeli military said separately that it had killed a militant who posed an imminent threat to its forces in southern Gaza.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their differences through dialogue, offering Tehran’s assistance to facilitate understanding between its eastern neighbours.
Ankara has rejected media reports claiming it plans to deploy military forces into Iranian territory in the event of a U.S. attack on the Islamic republic.
Georgia’s path towards European Union membership is facing its most serious crisis to date, with senior European lawmakers warning that the country is now a “candidate in name only” and accusing the ruling government of reversing democratic progress and drifting away from Europe.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment