SNAPSHOTS

Afghan-Pakistan Tensions Erupt Into Conflict

Feb 27, 2026 | 14:19 GMT

A Taliban security personnel operating an anti-aircraft gun keeps watch for Pakistani airstrikes near the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan on Feb. 27 in in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan.
A Taliban security personnel operating an anti-aircraft gun keeps watch for Pakistani airstrikes near the Torkham border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan on Feb. 27 in in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan.

(Aimal ZAHIR / AFP via Getty Images)

The ongoing escalation between Pakistan and Afghanistan marks a shift into overt interstate conflict, and while the most likely near-term trajectory is a sustained cycle of cross-border strikes and retaliation rather than full-scale war, the conflict could worsen. ...

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