Dawn.com
October 30, 2025
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir meets a jirga of tribal elders in Peshawar on October 30. — ISPR
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir said on Thursday that Pakistan sought peace with all neighbours, including Afghanistan, but reiterated that the country will not allow cross-border terrorism to be perpetrated from Afghan soil.
According to a statement from the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Field Marshal Munir made the comments during a trip to Peshawar, where he held an interactive session with a jirga of tribal elders. Later on, he was given a comprehensive briefing at Headquarters 11 Corps on the prevailing security environment, operational preparedness and ongoing counter terrorism efforts to maintain peace and stability along the Pak-Afghan border.
Pakistan-Afghanistan relations have worsened sharply in recent weeks, marked by
border clashes and mutual accusations. Islamabad has repeatedly warned Kabul against permitting the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to use Afghan territory for attacks — an allegation the Taliban reject. After a ceasefire, both sides initiated talks in Turkiye to develop a mechanism for monitoring Taliban measures to curb cross-border assaults, but discussions have so far reached a stalemate.
While addressing the jirga, Field Marshal Munir highlighted that “despite the continuation of cross-border terrorism from Afghanistan, Pakistan, over the last few years has exercised patience and extended multiple diplomatic and economic overtures to Afghanistan, aimed at improving Pak-Afghan bilateral relations.”