Pakistan and Afghanistan have traded attacks in a dramatic escalation of tensions between the countries. Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said Friday the two countries are now in "open war." Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan late Thursday, saying it was in retaliation for earlier Pakistani airstrikes. Pakistan then carried out airstrikes in Kabul and two other Afghan provinces Friday. Tensions have been high between the neighbors for months. Pakistan accuses Afghanistan's Taliban government of harboring militant groups that then stage attacks across the border and also of allying with its archrival India. A ceasefire ended intense fighting in October, although the two sides have occasionally traded fire since then.

Pakistani officials say a suicide bomber targeted a Shiite mosque on the outskirts of Islamabad during Friday prayers, killing 31 people and wounding at least 169 others. It was a rare attack in the capital of Pakistan as its Western-allied government struggles to rein in a surge in militant attacks across the country. Some of the wounded in the attack on the sprawling mosque of Khadija Al-Kubra were reported to be in critical condition. Television footage and social media images showed police and residents transporting the wounded to nearby hospitals. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Militant groups across Pakistan often target security forces and civilians.

A powerful 6.3 magnitude earthquake has shaken northern Afghanistan, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 640 others. The quake struck before dawn on Monday, damaging the historic Blue Mosque in Mazar-e-Sharif. In the town of Khulm, near the epicenter, residents have been digging through the rubble of collapsed homes. The impoverished country often struggles to respond to natural disasters, especially in remote regions. The Ministry of Defense announced that rescue and emergency teams have reached the affected areas. The United Nations in Afghanistan said its teams are on the ground assessing needs and delivering urgent aid.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have announced a ceasefire following days of the deadliest clashes in years that killed dozens of people on both sides of the border. The pause came after appeals from major regional powers, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The violence has threatened to further destabilize a region where groups including the Islamic State and al-Qaida are trying to resurface. Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harboring armed groups. The country's Taliban rulers deny it. Pakistan has seen a growing number of militant attacks since 2021, when the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan. Key border crossings remain closed.

Rescuers in Pakistan's Punjab province are racing to reach stranded families after heavy rain and water from overflowing dams in India caused major rivers to burst their banks. The floods have displaced nearly 250,000 people and affected than 1 million, with crops and businesses destroyed. At least 15 people were killed in Gujranwala district. Officials have set up relief and medical camps to deliver essential supplies. Floods have killed more than 800 people in Pakistan since late June. In Indian-controlled Kashmir, heavy rains have triggered flash floods and landslides, killing at least 115 people.

Torrential rainfall has left at least 34 people dead in Pakistan and India and triggered flash floods and landslides in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Over 210,000 people in Pakistan have been displaced, and the shrine of the founder of the Sikh religion has been submerged. Many of the dead were trekking on a popular Hindu pilgrimage route. Forecasters say rain will continue across the region this week. Heavy downpours and flash floods in the Himalayan region have killed nearly 100 people in August. Scientists say climate change is fueling heavier monsoon rains in South Asia.

Anguished Pakistanis are searching remote areas for bodies swept away by weekend flash floods as the death toll has reached 277. A senior official has replied to the lack of evacuation warnings by saying people should have built homes elsewhere. More than 150 people are still missing Monday in the mountainous district of Buner in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after Friday's flash floods. A changing climate has made residents of northern Pakistan's river-carved mountainous areas more vulnerable to sudden, heavy rains. A government official says torrential rains triggered a flash flood that killed 15 people in northwestern Swabi district on Monday.

A provincial emergency service spokesperson says a massive cloudburst triggered flash floods in northwestern Pakistan and has killed at least 157 people, including women and children. Mohammad Suhail told The Associated Press on Friday that dozens of people were still missing, and rescue operations were underway. He said 78 bodies were recovered from various parts of Buner district by midday Friday, and another 79 were pulled from the rubble of collapsed homes and flooded villages later. The latest fatalities bring the total number of rain-related deaths to 556 since June 26, according to disaster management officials.

Flash floods triggered by pre-monsoon rains swept away dozens of tourists in northwest Pakistan on Friday, killing at least eight people. The nationwide death toll from rain-related incidents rose to 18 over the past 24 hours, officials said. Nearly 100 rescuers are searching for missing tourists along the Swat River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Rescuers have saved 58 people and recovered eight bodies so far. Heavy rains have caused widespread damage, with more rain expected this week.