Afghanistan Times Latest News and Analysis from Afghanistan and the Region
Related Articles
KABUL – Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said the fragile ceasefire with Afghanistan will hold only if the Taliban government stops armed groups from launching cross-border attacks, warning that any assault from Afghan soil would violate the new agreement.
Speaking after the truce was reached through Qatari and Turkish mediation, Asif said “everything hinges on this one clause,” adding that fighters from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were operating “in connivance” with elements of Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban. He stressed that Pakistan would respond wherever threats emerged, including across the border, and that both sides would meet again in Istanbul on October 25 to finalize a monitoring mechanism.
Afghanistan, however, rejected the suggestion of complicity and emphasized its commitment to peace. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the two countries had agreed that “neither side will undertake any hostile actions against the other, nor will they support groups carrying out attacks against Pakistan.” He added that both nations would refrain from targeting each other’s security forces, civilians, or infrastructure.
The ceasefire followed a week of fierce border clashes that pushed relations to their lowest point since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Pakistan has accused Kabul of harboring TTP militants responsible for a surge in attacks inside its territory, while the Taliban administration accuses Islamabad of spreading misinformation and allowing ISIL-linked elements to destabilize Afghanistan.
Tensions escalated after Pakistan launched airstrikes on Afghan territory earlier this month, claiming to target TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud. Asif defended the strikes as retaliation, saying, “We were being attacked. Our territory was being attacked. So we just did tit for tat. Kabul is not a no-go area.”
The next round of peace talks in Istanbul is expected to test whether both governments can restrain the militant networks blamed for decades of cross-border bloodshed and prevent another cycle of confrontation.
