Pakistan’s defense minister says his country has run out of “patience” and considers that there is now an “open war” with Afghanistan, after both countries launched strikes following an Afghan cross-border attack. In a post on X, Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif says Pakistan had hoped for peace in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of NATO forces and expected the Taliban to focus on the welfare of the Afghan people and regional stability. Instead, he alleges, the Taliban had turned Afghanistan “into a colony of India,” gathered militants from around the world and begun “exporting terrorism.” The latest escalation of violence between the neighboring countries makes a Qatar-mediated ceasefire appear increasingly shaky.
