“Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and you (Afghanistan),” Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Friday.
The strikes threaten to unleash a protracted conflict along the 2,600-km (1,615-mile) frontier with relations between Kabul and Islamabad shattered by a long-running dispute over Pakistan’s accusation that Afghanistan harbours militants carrying out attacks across the border.
It does seem that Taliban has performed various attacks on Pakistani troops in recent past. If negotiations failed, then a counterattack would be expected.
However, a war between the countries seems unlikely. Afghanistan does not have an economy capable of sustaining war, and Taliban does not have a well-equipped army. Meanwhile, Pakistan is heavily equipped.
Also, Taliban is absolutely certainly not representing the majority of the Afghan people (for example, one would struggle to find a woman supporting the harsh removal of women’s rights). The majority of the population most likely don’t want a war, and Pakistan most likely doesn’t want to conquer a foreign land.
I think this will end with Taliban’s command centers and weapons stores being bombed, after which negotiations start succeeding.