Afghanistan Seeks to Resolve Conflict with Pakistan through Dialogue

The Taliban government currently in power in Afghanistan stated that it wishes to resolve the conflict with Pakistan through “dialogue and peace”. This followed fresh border clashes between the two neighbouring countries.

“We have repeatedly emphasised peaceful solutions and still wish this matter to be resolved through dialogue,” said Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid at a press conference in Kandahar, according to Anadolu Agency, on Saturday (28 February 2026).

Mujahid said that Pakistani military aircraft “continue to fly over Afghanistan”, several hours after Islamabad launched air strikes against Kabul and Kandahar as well as other cities.

According to Mujahid, at least 13 Afghan soldiers and 22 other personnel were wounded in the confrontation with Pakistan. Approximately 13 other civilians were also wounded.

In his statement, Mujahid called Pakistan “unwilling to resolve the issue through dialogue”.

He claimed that 55 Pakistani soldiers had been killed and many others wounded in the border clashes, with 19 positions destroyed. “We have 23 bodies of Pakistani soldiers, in addition to several others who have been captured, whose number we will announce later,” Mujahid said.

Furthermore, he rejected Pakistan’s allegations that the Pakistani Taliban were using Afghan territory to launch attacks in Pakistan.

Afghanistan and Pakistan have been engaged in fierce clashes since Thursday (26 February) evening. Kabul announced a border attack against Pakistan in retaliation for air strikes launched by Islamabad previously.

Pakistan responded by bombing several areas in Afghanistan, including the capital Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia, on Friday (27 February) morning.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s spokesman for foreign media, Mosharraf Zaidi, according to Al Jazeera, claimed that 287 Afghan fighters had been killed and more than 450 other fighters had been wounded.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif, announced that the two countries are now in “open war”. “Our patience has reached its limit. This is now open war between us and you (Afghanistan),” Asif said firmly in his statement.