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Pakistan\u2019s defense minister said Thursday that it was now \u201copen war\u201d between Pakistan and Afghanistan after violent border clashes, as both countries traded accusations over the escalating conflict.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Afghanistan has been governed by the Taliban since the American withdrawal in 2021.<\/p>\n Afghan forces launched \u201cpreemptive\u201d attacks Thursday on Pakistani military bases along the 1,640-mile border shared by the two countries, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said. Pakistan responded with airstrikes and cross-border attacks targeting Taliban military posts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn response to repeated border violations and provocations from Pakistani military circles, extensive preemptive operations have been launched against Pakistani military centers and paramilitary installations along the Durand Line,\u201d Mujahid wrote on social media Thursday.\u00a0 The Durand Line is the disputed border between the two countries.<\/span><\/p>\n Pakistan, a nuclear power, called the Afghan attacks \u201cunprovoked\u201d and said its military had begun retaliatory strikes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTaliban regime forces are being delivered punishment in Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram and Bajaur sectors. Early reports confirm heavy casualties on Afghan side with multiple posts and equipment destroyed,\u201d Pakistan\u2019s Ministry of Information posted on X.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Pakistani response included airstrikes on the cities of Kabul and Kandahar. The Taliban said no one was injured in those strikes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Pakistan spokesman Mosharraf Zaidi <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> the cross-border attacks had killed 133 Taliban fighters and wounded an additional 200. He added that 27 Taliban posts were destroyed and nine were captured.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In a later statement, Pakistan\u2019s defense minister Khawaja Asif accused Afghanistan of becoming a \u201cproxy for India\u201d and harboring terrorists.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe Taliban turned Afghanistan into a colony of India. They gathered all the terrorists of the world in Afghanistan and began exporting terrorism. They deprived their own people of basic human rights,\u201d Asif said. \u201cPakistan made every effort to keep the situation normal through direct means and through friendly countries. It engaged in full-fledged diplomacy. But the Taliban became a proxy for India.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOur cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you,\u201d he added. \u201cWe are your neighbors; we know your ins and outs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Last weekend, Pakistan <\/span>launched<\/span><\/a> airstrikes in Eastern Afghanistan at locations it said were being used by Islamic State terrorists. After those strikes, the Taliban said it would give an \u201cappropriate and measured response.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n