Afghanistan Strikes Deep Inside Pakistan: Nur Khan Airbase Hit as War Escalates Beyond the Border

Afghan jets hit Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi on Monday, taking the war with Pakistan hundreds of kilometres beyond the border for the first time. The Taliban government's Defence Ministry said its air force also struck the 12th Brigade headquarters in Quetta and the Khoizai camp in Mohmand Agency, calling the raids "precise and coordinated" retaliation for Pakistani strikes on Kabul and Bagram.

Nur Khan isn't any target. It sits in the garrison city that houses Pakistan's military headquarters — the Pentagon's backyard, basically. India's Operation Sindoor hit the same base last May. Two neighbours striking the same installation within ten months sends a message that's hard to spin away.

How We Got Here

A week ago, this was a border conflict. Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab Lil Haq on February 22, hitting alleged TTP camps in Nangarhar, Paktika, and Khost. Standard cross-border strikes — the kind both sides had traded for years.

Then Pakistan bombed Kabul and Kandahar on February 27. Not border camps. Cities. An ammo depot in the capital exploded with secondary blasts that shook the city for hours. Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif declared "open war."

The Taliban hit back along the Durand Line, claiming 12 Pakistani soldiers killed and 13 outposts captured. On Sunday, Afghan forces fired anti-aircraft missiles at Pakistani jets attempting to bomb Bagram — the old American airbase north of Kabul. Pakistan's information minister said 46 locations across Afghanistan had been hit since the operation began.

Monday's strikes on Rawalpindi and Quetta crossed a line both sides had carefully avoided. This isn't border skirmishing anymore. It's a shooting war with no off-ramp in sight.

The Door Slams Shut

Pakistan's PM spokesman Mosharraf Zaidi killed any pretence of diplomacy on Sunday. "There won't be any talks. There's no dialogue. There's no negotiation." One demand: end Afghanistan-based terrorism. Full stop.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, China, and the UN all called for restraint. None have leverage to enforce it. The Guardian reported diplomatic efforts haven't secured even a temporary truce.

The Taliban's stance is murkier. Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani warned the conflict would be "very costly." The government's deputy spokesman said they'd talk but would retaliate if attacked. Not exactly an olive branch when your jets are bombing Rawalpindi.

Pakistan's Two-Front Squeeze

Here's what makes this different from every previous Pakistan-Afghanistan flare-up: Iran.

Four days ago, US and Israeli strikes killed Iran's Supreme Leader and crippled its military command. The Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed — 200-plus tankers anchored outside, IRGC forces attacking commercial shipping. Brent crude surged above $80 on Monday's open.

Pakistan imports most of its oil through sea routes now threatened by Hormuz. Dawn flagged oil as "Pakistan's biggest economic risk." Edible oil imports alone ran $3.7 billion last fiscal year. Analysts warn of fuel price hikes and an inflationary spiral — echoes of the Russia-Ukraine shock, except Pakistan is also fighting a war.

Worse: Iran had been mediating between Islamabad and the Taliban before the bombs fell. Foreign Minister Araghchi urged both sides toward dialogue, invoking Ramadan solidarity. That channel is dead. Tehran is fighting for its own survival.

Pakistan's PM Shehbaz Sharif postponed a trip to Russia, citing the "regional and internal situation." Translation: everything is on fire.

The View from Different Capitals

Indian media covers Pakistan's predicament with thinly veiled satisfaction. "Double whammy for Pakistan" leads the Times of India's analysis. New Delhi condemned Pakistan's Afghan strikes and backed Afghan sovereignty — positioning India as the responsible power while its rival bleeds on two fronts. India-Taliban ties are growing, which feeds Pakistan's anxiety.

Beijing is "deeply concerned" — diplomatic code for not stepping in. China's CPEC corridor runs through the same regions this conflict is destabilising. The BLA attack on Gwadar port last week reminded everyone that Chinese-backed infrastructure remains exposed.

Arab media centres the humanitarian cost. Taliban officials told The Guardian's Kabul correspondent that 36 civilians have died across Afghan provinces since Thursday. Eighteen in Nangarhar, including 11 children. Families are fleeing border areas on both sides, joining the 2.9 million Afghans already returned from Pakistan in 2025.

Pakistani media frames the operation as overdue. The Pakistan Observer argued Islamabad "did not seek confrontation with the Afghan Taliban — it was pushed toward it." The narrative: years of TTP safe havens and a February 16 Bajaur bombing that killed 11 security personnel and a child.

What Changed Today

Three things matter about Monday's escalation.

First, depth. Afghan strikes hit Rawalpindi — 350km from the border. Whether the damage was militarily meaningful matters less than the fact it happened. The Taliban showed a capability nobody expected.

Second, tempo. Both sides attack faster than diplomats can talk. Pakistan hit 46 targets. Afghanistan hit back deep. Pakistan's "no talks" posture removes even the pretence of a pause button.

Third, isolation. Every potential mediator is busy (Iran), weak (UN, Saudi, Qatar), or uninterested (the US backs Pakistan and has its hands full with Iran).

Western intelligence agencies are watching for another reason: al-Qaeda and Islamic State still operate in this border region. The Guardian noted both groups "have been trying to resurface." A destabilised frontier between two warring governments creates exactly the vacuum they need.

What Comes Next

Ramadan begins in roughly four weeks. Pakistan's Defence Minister originally warned action would come before Ramadan if the Taliban didn't act on the TTP. That timeline has been accelerated violently. Whether either side has the will or capacity to fight through the holy month is an open question.

For now, the trajectory is clear: a border dispute has become a war, a war has reached deep into both countries, and the one regional power that might have brokered peace is burning.

The arc of instability stretching from the Persian Gulf through Iran to Afghanistan and Pakistan is now fully lit. Reuters called it "a wide swathe of Asia — from the Gulf to the Himalayas — in flux." On Monday, with Afghan jets hitting the garrison city where Pakistan's generals work, that felt like understatement.