{"id":7701,"date":"2026-02-28T19:43:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T19:43:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=7701"},"modified":"2026-02-28T19:43:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T19:43:10","slug":"us-backs-pakistans-right-to-defend-itself-against-taliban-after-strikes-on-afghanistan-pakistan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=7701","title":{"rendered":"US backs Pakistan\u2019s \u2018right to defend itself\u2019 against Taliban after strikes on Afghanistan | Pakistan"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Washington endorsed Pakistan\u2019s \u201cright to defend itself\u201d after it bombed major cities across Afghanistan<\/a> amid heightened tensions between the two hostile neighbours.<\/p>\n

The Taliban government in Kabul stressed it was ready to negotiate on Friday as violence intensified between the two countries.<\/p>\n

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahi said: \u201cThe Islamic emirate of Afghanistan has always tried to resolve issues through dialogue, and now also we want to resolve this matter through dialogue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Pakistani strikes hit parts of Kabul, Kandahar and Paktia on Thursday night, and Paktia, Paktika, Khost and Laghman on Friday, he said.<\/p>\n

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Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif earlier said his country was in \u201copen war\u201d with Afghanistan,<\/a> and that patience had run out in Islamabad.<\/p>\n

The latest wave of attacks came after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops on Thursday night, which Afghanistan said was in retaliation for deadly Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan border areas last weekend.<\/p>\n

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan\u2019s Taliban government of sheltering militant groups that stage attacks across the border \u2013 a claim denied by Kabul \u2013 and of allying with India, its historic enemy and regional rival.<\/p>\n

The UK and the EU called for swift de-escalation, and urged both sides to reenter negotiations. While a Qatari-mediated ceasefire ended fighting in 2025, talks in Istanbul in November did not yield a formal peace agreement.<\/p>\n

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