Military clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan continued for a fifth day Tuesday, in a conflict with potentially major implications for South Asian and world geopolitics.

Pakistan has carried out waves of air and missile strikes, including on Kabul and other targets deep inside Afghanistan, since it announced last Friday, February 27, that it was launching “open war” on its smaller, northwestern neighbour. Pakistani forces have also attacked numerous Afghan positions along the 2,640-kilometer (1,640 miles) Durand Line, a British Empire-imposed border that Kabul has never recognized.

Afghanistan’s Taliban regime has countered with drone strikes and cross-border assaults. Both sides are boasting that they have killed hundreds of rival soldiers. Kabul is alleging Pakistan’s aerial war has resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties.

Most foreign governments, including those of China, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have appealed to the two sides to immediately cease hostilities and negotiate a settlement.

The United States led by the would-be fascist dictator Donald Trump administration is not among them. Endorsing Islamabad’s war narrative, the US State Department has declared Washington’s “support for Pakistan’s right to defend itself against incursions from the Taliban, which is designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization.”

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