Khaberni - Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Friday that his country is in an "open war" with its neighbor Afghanistan, adding that Islamabad's patience has run out amid escalating tensions overnight, resulting in the announcement of heavy casualties.
He said: "Our patience has run out. Now it is an open war between us and you," referring to Afghanistan.
Afghanistan launched a military attack on Pakistan on Thursday; it justified it as a response to bloody air raids targeting its territory days earlier, and announced the killing and capturing of Pakistani soldiers, which Islamabad denied.
The attack, according to officials, targeted points along the border, following a series of clashes and Pakistani air raids on Afghanistan in recent months.
The spokesperson for the Afghan government, Zabihullah Mujahid on platform X said, "In response to the repeated violations by the Pakistani army, wide-ranging offensive operations have been launched against Pakistani military bases and facilities."
The office of the governor of Kunar and residents in the state reported to Agence France-Presse that military operations are ongoing in their area, while Afghan officials confirmed that the army is carrying out operations in other states.
Conversely, Pakistan announced that it is dealing with the attacks through an "immediate and effective response."
The Pakistani Ministry of Information posted on platform X that Afghanistan "fired indiscriminately at several sites" in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region.
The spokesperson for the Afghan government told Agence France-Presse that their forces had taken control of more than 15 Pakistani military points within two hours.
Zabihullah Mujahid said: "Dozens of (Pakistani) soldiers have been killed, and we have transported 10 bodies to Kunar and other areas. There are also a number of wounded and captured alive."
However, a spokesperson for Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that "no Pakistani points have been captured or damaged," adding that their forces "inflicted heavy losses" on the Afghan army.
An Afghan official announced that several civilians were injured in a camp for Afghans returning from Pakistan near the Torkham border crossing.
The head of the media office in Nangarhar, Qureshi Badloon, said: "A shell hit the camp, and unfortunately, seven of our refugees were injured, and one woman's condition is critical."
Despite the closure of the border since the start of the clashes in October, Afghan returnees have been allowed to cross it.
