Defence Minister Khawaja Asif declared open war with Afghanistan on Friday.

Writing on X, Asif said Pakistan’s cup of patience has overflowed. He used the phrase “dama dam mast qalandar”, adding that the military is returning fire against border aggression. 

Asif said that after the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan, it had been expected that stability would return to the country while the Taliban would prioritise regional peace and the interests of the Afghan people. Instead, Afghanistan had been turned into what he called an “Indian colony.”

He stated that the Taliban had brought militants from different parts of the world into Afghanistan and were exporting terrorism. He also accused them of denying their citizens basic human rights and stripping women of rights guaranteed under Islam.

Asif said Pakistan had made efforts to keep the situation from escalating, both through direct engagement and by using friendly countries for diplomatic outreach. He said those efforts failed after the Taliban aligned with India.

The defence minister said that when attempts were made to target Pakistan, the armed forces responded.