Pakistan has carried out air strikes on Afghanistan’s capital Kabul and two other provinces, sharply escalating months of border tensions, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country’s forces are fully prepared to crush any aggressive ambitions by the Afghan Taliban.

According to Pakistani officials, the strikes on Friday targeted locations in Kabul as well as Kandahar and Paktika provinces. The attacks followed an announcement by the Afghan Taliban late Thursday of a major offensive against Pakistani military posts near the border.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister described the situation as an “open war” with the Afghan Taliban, while several cabinet members publicly praised the armed forces. Islamabad accuses the Taliban-led government in Kabul of backing militants linked to repeated attacks inside Pakistan, a claim consistently denied by Afghan authorities.

A spokesperson for the Afghan Taliban said on social media that their forces had responded with renewed attacks against Pakistani troops, though the post was later deleted. Taliban officials also claimed retaliatory strikes on Pakistani border posts, with both sides making conflicting assertions about casualties that could not be independently verified.

Afghan state television reported that three civilians, including a woman and two schoolchildren, were killed in Paktika province during Pakistani air strikes, with several others injured. Pakistan has said its operations were precision strikes carried out in response to what it called unprovoked aggression.

The escalation has drawn international concern. The United Nations, China, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have all urged restraint. China called on both sides to resolve differences through dialogue and said it was ready to play a constructive role in de-escalation, while Iran offered to mediate between the neighbours.

Former Afghan president Hamid Karzai condemned the strikes, saying Afghans would defend their homeland and urging Pakistan to pursue good neighbourly relations instead of military action.

Analysts told the BBC that while the latest air strikes mark a serious escalation, they are part of a long-running pattern of tit-for-tat violence. Experts noted that, despite its experience in guerrilla warfare, the Taliban is unlikely to engage Pakistan in a full-scale conventional conflict given Pakistan’s far superior military capabilities.

Fighting has also disrupted areas near key border crossings, including Torkham, one of the main routes for people and goods between the two countries. The border has largely remained closed since clashes last year, worsening conditions for Afghan returnees and refugees.

With official briefings expected from both Islamabad and Kabul, the situation remains fluid, raising fears of further instability in an already volatile region.

With inputs from BBC