The United States on Saturday expressed support for Pakistan’s right to defend itself following attacks from the Afghan Taliban, after Islamabad said earlier that the two countries were in a state of “open war.”
A day earlier, Afghanistan's Taliban rulers had said they were willing to negotiate after Pakistan bombed their forces in major cities.
"The United States supports Pakistan's right to defend itself against attacks from the Taliban, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group," a State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
US diplomat Allison Hooker said on X that she spoke on Friday with Pakistan Foreign Secretary Amna Baloch.
Pakistan is nuclear-armed, and its military capabilities are vastly superior to Afghanistan's.
The country is also a major non-Nato ally of Washington, which considers the Afghan Taliban to be a "terrorist" group.
The situation erupted after Pakistan's forces carried out airstrikes on Afghan territory last weekend in response to a spate of Taliban terror attacks on civilians and security forces.
Islamabad has irrefutable evidence that Afghanistan shelters Pakistani Taliban militants, while the latter denies this and argues that the former is deflecting blame for its own security failures.
The State Department spokesperson said Washington was aware of the escalation in tensions and "outbreak of fighting between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban," adding the US was "saddened by the loss of life."
Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif says the situation amounted to an "open war".
"The Taliban have consistently failed to uphold their counterterrorism commitments," the State Department said, adding that "terrorist groups use Afghanistan as a launching pad for their heinous attacks."
Earlier, US President Donald Trump voiced strong support for Pakistan’s military action against the Afghan Taliban under Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, commending Islamabad’s handling of the situation and describing its performance positively.
Speaking to reporters before departing for Texas, Trump was asked about Pakistan’s response to what it called unprovoked aggression by the Afghan Taliban.
When questioned about whether he had been asked to intervene, Trump replied, “Well, I would, but I get along with Pakistan, as you know, very well. Very, very well.
“[They] have a great prime minister, a great general there, a great leader … two of the people I really respect a lot,” he said, referring to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir.
“And I think that Pakistan is doing terrifically well,” he added, sharing his view on the situation.
