Afghan Taliban open to talks after Pakistan bombs Kabul, Kandahar

The Taliban, who rule Afghanistan, announced on Friday that they are open to negotiations after Pakistan bombed their forces in key cities, leading to the deaths of dozens of troops. This incident marks the first time Pakistan has directly targeted its former allies, accusing them of sheltering militants, and it described the situation as “open war.” The bombings struck the capital, Kabul, and Kandahar, where many Taliban leaders are located, indicating a severe breakdown in relations between the two neighboring countries. Thick black smoke was seen rising from two locations in Kabul, and a large fire was captured in videos verified by Reuters. Kabul taxi driver Tamim, who was asleep during the attacks, recounted, “The plane came and dropped two bombs, then flew away. After that, we heard explosions.” He added that everyone rushed down from the second floor of their home as the munitions in the depot continued to explode. According to security sources in Pakistan, the strikes were missile attacks on Taliban military offices and positions in response to Afghan assaults on Thursday. The Taliban claimed that Afghan forces had used drones against Pakistani military targets, while Pakistan stated that all the drones were shot down without causing any damage. Numerous ground confrontations were reported along the border. Pakistan claimed to have killed 274 Taliban officials and militants, whereas Afghanistan reported 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed; these figures could not be independently verified by Reuters.