ISLAMABAD: Pakistan airstrikes on Afghanistan drew diplomatic support from Washington as Islamabad said on Saturday (Feb 28) it would not stop military operations pressuring the Afghan government, which it accuses of backing militancy.
The Taliban government has denied harbouring militants and its spokesperson has called for “dialogue” to resolve a previously simmering conflict that Pakistan’s defence minister said on Friday was now “open war”.
After both countries’ forces clashed at the border intermittently for months, Pakistan launched the strikes in the early hours of Friday morning in response to a cross-border Afghan offensive on Thursday night.
Pakistan’s information minister said on Saturday that 37 locations across Afghanistan had been subject to aerial targeting since its operation began.
It was not clear if strikes had taken place on Friday night, but authorities signalled that operations were still taking place.
“Pakistan’s immediate and effective response to aggression continues,” Mosharraf Zaidi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister, posted on X late on Friday.
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