India, Feb. 28 -- US President Donald Trump on Friday praised Pakistan's military chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, while his administration backed Islamabad's "right to defend itself" against "attacks" by Afghanistan's Taliban.

Declaring an "open war". Pakistan said it launched air strikes on cities in neighbouring Afghanistan on in the early hours Friday, responding to unprovoked firing by the Taliban on multiple locations along the border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram and Bajaur sectors on Thursday evening. Track latest in Pakistan-Afghanistan open war here

The Pakistani strikes - under Operation Ghazab lil-Haq - led to a major escalation after months of tit-for-tat skirmishe...