A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Pakistan hit a series of military installations across Afghanistan overnight. The Pakistani defense minister described the attacks as an open war. It's not clear yet what the death toll is. NPR's Diaa Hadid has this report, which includes a sound of gunfire.
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UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR: (Non-English language spoken).
DIAA HADID, BYLINE: A commentator on Pakistani state-run TV talks over grainy aerial footage that shows structures being bombed to dust. He claims that Taliban fighters are waving the white flag.
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UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR: (Non-English language spoken).
HADID: Pakistan has struck Afghanistan in the past, including earlier this week, but hitting Taliban government installations is a major escalation. It comes as Pakistan reels from attacks that have been increasing in frequency and lethality since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan four years ago. The violence included an Islamic State suicide bomber who killed more than 30 people in a Shiite mosque earlier this month. According to the U.N., it was the deadliest attack in the Pakistani capital in more than a decade.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Non-English language spoken).
HADID: Pakistan says these attacks are happening because the Taliban is sheltering militant groups and even aiding some. This is Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on state-run TV.
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ATTAULLAH TARAR: Pakistan will not tolerate the Afghan soil being used against Pakistan for terrorist attacks. Not only being used, but the terrorists are getting training in Afghanistan.
HADID: The Taliban have said in the past that they're being blamed for Pakistan's security failures. They did not immediately comment to NPR. Even as Pakistani strikes continued, one militant group released videos to journalists on WhatsApp, showing them fighting back.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Non-English language spoken).
HADID: Abdul Basit is a researcher in religious extremism, terrorism and security in South Asia. He worries that the strikes will only strengthen the resolve of militant groups and the Taliban, but he says Pakistan is running out of options.
ABDUL BASIT: This is very bad and is going to be a bloody summer.
HADID: One where shifting alliances across the region are creating their own instability. Relations between India and the Taliban have grown increasingly stronger, and that means Pakistan sees two hostile neighbors on its borders growing closer. Analysts say how that will impact this fighting just yet isn't clear, and that makes the endgame hard to predict.
Diaa Hadid, NPR News, Mumbai.
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