Pakistan Afghanistan Relations

[ghazi52]

Shift in Kabul ties imminent as more terror hideouts hit​

Baqir Sajjad Syed
October 18, 2025

Afghan Taliban fighters patrol near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in Spin Boldak, Kandahar Province, following exchanges of fire between Pakistani and Afghan forces in Afghanistan on October 15, 2025. — Reuters/File

• Hafiz Gul Bahadur group’s positions in the crosshairs hours after audacious gun-and-bomb attack in North Waziristan
• Strikes come despite extension of ceasefire; security officials say ‘truce with Afghan govt, not terror outfits’
• Khawaja Asif accuses Afghan Taliban of ‘sitting in India’s lap’; says terrorists will be made to pay heavy price, wherever they are
• Questions remain over Qatar-mediated talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in absence of clarity over who will attend

ISLAMABAD: With representatives from both sides expected to meet in Doha soon for talks mediated by the Qatari government, a telling statement from the country’s defence minister indicated that the gloves were off, as Pakistan again targeted terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan on Friday.

The attacks came on the heels of an audacious gun-and-bomb attack, targeting a military installation in North Waziristan, and just hours after Islamabad and Kabul extended their two-day ceasefire.

Incidents were reported from the Angoor Adda region and across Afghanistan’s Urgun and Barmal districts of Paktika province, as security sources claimed that precision strikes were conducted against hideouts of the outlawed Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, reportedly killing dozens of fighters.

“If someone attacks Afghanistan, our forces are ready to respond,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Ariana News. However, Pakistani security sources pointed out that the ceasefire agreement between the Afghan government and Pakistan did not preclude strikes on terror outfits and their hideouts.

There was no statement from Pakistan’s military, but terrorists linked to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group had claimed responsibility for the attack on Khaddi Fort in Mir Ali, where a suicide bomber rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into the main gate of a military camp before attempting to stage an incursion earlier in the day.

Although there was no official word from Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on losses suffered, security sources claimed to have foiled the attack by eliminating all attackers.

The attack began on Friday morning, with local sources describing a massive explosion, followed by heavy gunfire as terrorists attempted to enter the military camp. Sources said that “all four” attackers were killed.

Heavy price to pay

In a telling statement posted to X (formerly Twitter), Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the relationship with Kabul would no longer be like it was in the past. “There will no longer be protest notes or appeals for peace; no delegations will go to Kabul. Wherever the source of terrorism lies, it will have to pay a heavy price,” he wrote.

Mr Asif accused Afghanistan of “sitting in India’s lap and plotting conspiracies against Pakistan”, saying that Islamabad “can no longer afford to have relations with Kabul like in the past”.

“All Afghans on Pakistani soil will have to go back to their homeland,” he wrote. “Now they have their own government [or] caliphate in Kabul. It has been five years since the Islamic revolution… they must live with Pakistan as neighbours.”

 

[ghazi52]

In the post, the defence minister elaborated on the visits by Pakistani delegations to Kabul and provided figures for acts of terrorism by groups operating out of Afghanistan and the total number of casualties.

Since the Taliban took power in 2021, Pakistani foreign ministers visited Kabul four times; defence ministers and the ISI chiefs visited twice; the special representative and foreign secretaries carried out five visits each; the national security adviser visited once, and the Joint Coordination Committee had eight meetings in the Afghan capital.

He added that there were 225 border flag meetings, 836 protest notes and 13 demarches.

“From 2021 to date: 3,844 martyred (civilians, military, and law enforcement agencies combined). Terrorist incidents: 10,347,” the defence minister listed.

Truce talks?

The fresh exchanges on Friday night cast a shadow over the ceasefire, which had been extended just a few hours earlier, as well as the planned Doha talks.

“The ceasefire has been mutually extended by both Pakistan and Afghanistan till the end of the talks in Doha, Qatar. The talks are ready to begin [on Saturday],” a security source said on Friday evening at the conclusion of the initial 48-hour truce, which had been in effect since Wednesday.

The two-day ceasefire was largely observed without violations, but the dialogue initially agreed at the time of its announcement, aimed at addressing what Pakistan’s Foreign Office described as a “complex but solvable issue”, failed to take place during that period.

 

[ghazi52]

Earlier in the day, at his weekly media briefing, outgoing Foreign Office spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan reiterated: “Afghanistan has become a central breeding ground for global terrorism.”

He warned the international community against complacency, adding, “We do not have to wait for a big disaster happening at the global scale before we take remedial action. This fire will spread. This has to be stopped.”

No bilateral initiative for talks emerged during the first phase of the truce. However, Qatar, which along with Saudi Arabia had pushed both sides to halt hostilities, offered to host their meeting in Doha. The talks, initially slated for Thursday or Friday, were postponed by a day due to logistical issues and reluctance within the Taliban leadership to engage, sources said.

Reports from Afghanistan suggest that the Taliban delegation would include Defence Minister Mullah Yaqub Mujahid and intelligence chief Mullah Wasiq. Pakistan’s Foreign Office stayed silent on the matter, but a late-evening meeting between National Security Adviser and ISI chief Lt. Gen. Asim Malik and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar suggested that Gen Malik may travel to Doha.

 

[ghazi52]

Return of victims’ remains

Earlier on Friday, Afghan authorities handed over the bodies of seven Pakistani citizens — including two security personnel — to Pakistani officials at the border following the deadly Taliban attack in the Chaman sector on Tuesday.

“The Taliban authorities handed over all the seven bodies to Pakistan through Hilal-e-Ahmar Pakistan (Red Crescent),” Abdul Wali Khan Ghabizai of the Balochistan chapter of the organization confirmed. He said Taliban officials announced at the Vesh Mandi border post that they were returning the remains of Pakistanis who had died “in the armed clash between two countries.”

The bodies were taken to the District Hospital in Chaman for identification and medicolegal formalities.

“Five bodies were brought to the district hospital Chaman,” said Dr Muhammad Awais, the hospital’s medical superintendent. “Four out of five martyrs have been identified as residents of the border town, while the fifth could not be identified so far.”

Two of the deceased were identified as security personnel — Naik Suleman and Sepoy Sabir — whose remains were later transferred to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Quetta. Officials said that four of the five civilians were killed by mortar shell splinters, while one was hit in the forehead. The victims — identified as Syed Ali Adozai, Muhammad Asghar Ashaizai, Rozi Khan Salehzai, and Nasibullah Salehzai — were local daily-wage workers. They were buried in their native villages Friday evening.

 

[ghazi52]

Local residents in Chaman claimed that at least 12 Pakistani civilians were killed earlier in Taliban attacks in Spin Boldak, the first Afghan district across the border.

Responding to reports that bodies of some Pakistani soldiers had been mutilated, the Foreign Office spokesman at the weekly media briefing said, “This kind of savagery, bestiality, is condemnable, and it needs to be condemned in the strongest words possible. This is beyond the pale. It is beyond humanity, and this has deeply offended us and deeply hurt the Pakistani people.” “It is not something to be forgiven and forgotten easily,” Mr Khan added.

Saleem Shahid from Quetta also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2025

 

[hydrabadi_arab]

• Strikes come despite extension of ceasefire; security officials say ‘truce with Afghan govt, not terror outfits’

This is brilliant.

No ceasefire against terrorist camps in Afghanistan. So only way out for talibund regime is to take care of terrorists themselves or keep getting humiliated by Pakistani drone strikes on terror camps. And if they try to act clever on border then regime leadership will also be targeted with bombs on Kabul/Kandahar.

Pakistan have them trapped in bad place right now.

 

[Vapnope]

Give no space to TTP.

 

[imadul]

Many times, I was of the view to eradicate ttp shelters, houses in afg while ISAF was conducting operations in afg. Many forum experts said, no.
This is not possible. Most pak did during that time was hit those hideouts with artillery. Imagine precision strikes with artillery on terrorists hideouts, ttp could move out on motor cycles. Now paf fighters and UCAV striking.
One stich at the time saves hundred stitches later.

 

[Blain2]

There is one MAJOR upside with Pakistani kinetic actions inside Afghanistan.

When Afghans take damage, the appetite to let TTP and the Indian R&AW to operate openly to carry out anti-Pakistani terrorism will also come under serious pressure.

Pakistan's stance is a clear one. We don't care who orchestrates the attacks, as long as the direction of attack points to Afghanistan, a kinetic response will be delivered to Afghanistan. We have stopped caring whether they are Afghan Taliban aligned and directed elements or Indian-sponsored, pain will be inflicted on Afghanistan in any or all cases.

 

[Blain2]

Good article and something that needs to be officially stated about these grandiose statements from Afghans about "we destroyed x, y and z"...none of that was possible w/o outside support.

Taliban’s new ploy​

Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry Published October 19, 2025 Updated 2 days ago

The writer is chairman, Sanober Institute, and former foreign secretary of Pakistan.
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaMc238IiRov8okfYy3n
THE Afghan Taliban regime is living under an illusion. Visiting India, its interim foreign minister recently stated that Afghanistan had defeated the British, the Soviets and the Americans. No, they had not. The Afghan rulers of the time were decisively defeated in the second Anglo-Afghan war (1878-80) by the British, enabling the latter to effectively make Afghanistan a buffer zone in the Great Game between the Raj and the Russian empire. Abdul Rahman Khan accepted the Durand Line as the border with British India, which was endorsed by subsequent Afghan rulers. As for the Soviets, it was the concerted effort by the US and Pakistan that pushed them out and rescued the Afghan people in the 1980s. America’s presence in Afghanistan since 2001 also ended only when the US itself decided to exit in August 2021 because of American public opinion turning against distant wars and the strategic depth the Taliban had received in Pakistan.

For over four years now, the world has expected the Taliban to honour their commitments under the 2020 Doha peace accord with the US. However, they have violated all three promises: forming a true representative government, respecting women’s rights, and not allowing terrorist entities on Afghan soil.

With Pakistan, the Taliban have adopted a particularly hostile attitude, having lately embarked upon a two-pronged manoeuvre. The first prong is teaming up with India to not only benefit from Indian investments in healthcare, education and infrastructure, but to also doubly squeeze Pakistan under the mistaken belief that Pakistan’s enemy is their friend. For its part, India, which has severely criticised Taliban in the past, has reversed its policy in order to leverage the Taliban against Pakistan, just as the Taliban are leveraging it against Pakistan. India hopes to wean the Taliban further away from Pakistan and even China.

The second prong is an upsurge in the Taliban’s kinetic aggression to destabilise the Pak-Afghan border (Oct 11-12, 2025) while ignoring Pakistan’s consistent protests against the Taliban’s support to the TTP (and other anti-Pakistan elements) who have killed children and other innocent civilians in Pakistan. For now, Pakistan has repulsed the assaults and inflicted heavy losses on the Taliban forces and their TTP associates. However, it is evident that the Taliban won’t heed Pakistan’s advice to not allow terrorist elements on their soil. Instead, the Afghan leadership tends to shift the burden of any action to Pakistan, arguing that these terrorists should be handled inside this country. The Taliban media is also spreading disinformation, taking a leaf out of the Indian media’s playbook.

Why are the Taliban inimical towards Pakistan?

Why are the Taliban so ungrateful and inimical towards Pakistan? It appears that they are trying to be nationalist in order to garner support from the wider Afghan society. Perhaps they wish to give the impression that they aren’t under Pakistan’s influence. They are hosting the TTP probably as a leverage against Pakistan. In doing all this, they are overestimating their power potential, and may be in for a rude shock. It would be prudent for them not to underestimate Pakistan’s resolve to defend its borders and defeat Taliban-backed terrorists.

How should Pakistan deal with the Taliban? Several steps can be considered in the immediate term: One, Pakistan should maintain its robust defence at the borders with Afghanistan (and India). Only strength can deter aggression. Two, it should send a clear message to Kabul that the doors for dialogue are open, provided the Taliban firmly commit to ending their support to the TTP. If they do not commit to that, then kinetic options would remain on the table. Three, Pakistan must keep up the pressure on the Taliban through diplomatic outreach to Saudi Arabia (now a partner in mutual defence), China, Russia, Iran, the Central Asian Republics, Turkiye, the UAE and America. Given the Taliban’s past association with Al Qaeda, the global community would not want to see the Taliban hosting terrorist entities again. Pakistan should also register its complaints in the UN under the UNSCR 1988 (1267) sanctions regime.

In the medium term, Pakistan should develop a nationwide consensus on a review of its previously generous policies regarding Afghan refugees, scholarships for Afghan students, special desks in its hospitals for Afghans, collecting custom duties on transit trade through Pakistani ports, and media outreach to Afghan society. Experts could be invited to suggest doable measures. In the long term, an effort could be mounted to win the hearts and minds of our nationals living in the erstwhile Fata region bordering Afghanistan through development work. They are the first line of defence against terrorism from Afghanistan.

The writer is chairman, Sanober Institute, and former foreign secretary of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2025

 

[Jango]

When Afghans take damage, the appetite to let TTP and the Indian R&AW to operate openly to carry out anti-Pakistani terrorism will also come under serious pressure.

They let the almost the whole developed world turn Afghanistan into a munitions dumping ground, yet the Taliban didn't give away OBL

 

[SecularNationalist]

Don't show any mercy to namak harams.

 

[clutch]

There is one MAJOR upside with Pakistani kinetic actions inside Afghanistan.

When Afghans take damage, the appetite to let TTP and the Indian R&AW to operate openly to carry out anti-Pakistani terrorism will also come under serious pressure.

Pakistan's stance is a clear one. We don't care who orchestrates the attacks, as long as the direction of attack points to Afghanistan, a Kinetic response will be delivered to Afghanistan. We have stopped caring whether they are Afghan Taliban aligned and directed elements or Indian-sponsored, pain will be inflicted on Afghanistan in any or all cases.

I doubt there is sort of principle driven stance by Pakistan. It's all about geopolitics and financial gain. That's about it. The whole terrorism themed mantra is for public consumption.

 

[Blain2]

I doubt there is sort of principle driven stance by Pakistan. It's all about geopolitics and financial gain. That's about it. The whole terrorism themed mantra is for public consumption.

I hope this is not some confused narrative which claims that Pakistan is doing this at American bidding.

Pakistanis are dying in the hundreds (and thousands over the past 4 years). Pakistan has no choice but to take hard action. This is not being done at anyone's behest but for our own people. If anything, Pakistan has been on the losing end of "financial gain". MNCs are leaving because of uncertainty and security situation. So what gain do we get from the situation imposed on us by TTP et-al?

 

[RescueRanger]

COAS Munir reiterates any violation of Pakistan’s territorial integrity will be met with ‘firm and decisive response’

Army chief says all necessary actions being taken to pursue “Indian sponsored proxies” and rid Balochistan of their menace.

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