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Pakistan bombed Afghanistan\u2019s capital of Kabul and two other provinces on Friday, hours after a cross-border attack, the latest escalation of violence<\/a> between the volatile neighbours who signed a Qatar-mediated ceasefire in 2025.<\/p>\n Following months of tit-for-tat clashes, Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops on Thursday night in what the Taliban government said was retaliation for earlier deadly air strikes.<\/p>\n Hours later, at least three explosions were heard in Kabul on Friday morning, but there was no immediate information on the exact location of the strikes in the Afghan capital, or of any potential casualties.<\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Friday his country\u2019s armed forces could \u201ccrush\u201d aggressors, following air strikes on neighbouring Afghanistan<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOur forces have the full capability to crush any aggressive ambitions,\u201d Sharif said, according to the Pakistani government\u2019s X page. \u201cThe entire nation stands shoulder to shoulder with the Pakistan armed forces,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Relations between the neighbours have plunged in recent months, with land border crossings largely shut since deadly fighting in October that killed more than 70 people on both sides.<\/p>\n Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of failing to act against militant groups that carry out attacks in Pakistan, which the Taliban government denies.<\/p>\n The UN secretary-general, Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, urges both sides to protect civilians as required under international law and \u201cto continue to seek to resolve any differences through diplomacy,\u201d UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.<\/p>\n Commenting on the Friday airstrikes, Pakistan\u2019s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi said the strikes on Afghanistan were a \u201cbefitting response\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cPakistan\u2019s armed forces have given a befitting response to the Afghan Taliban\u2019s open aggression,\u201d said Naqvi.<\/p>\n Government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistan also carried out airstrikes in Kandahar to the south and in the south-eastern province of Pakistan.<\/p>\n