Talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Istanbul (October 25-28), mediated by Qatar and Turkey, collapsed amidst strident rhetoric. Pakistan issued a 72-hour ultimatum for “Taliban to summon TTP Shura or we act unilaterally". Taliban responded, “You declare war, we retaliate—Islamabad is not safe." Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Asif escalated the attack: “If Afghanistan even looks at Islamabad, we will gouge their eyes out." A Taliban statement noted, “Pakistan came to negotiate, then chose war."

In the immediate aftermath, Pakistan reactivated its counter-insurgency Operation Azm-e-Istehkam (Phase II) and notified the United Nations of its plans to forcibly repatriate 1.7 million Afghan refugees by December 2025. The Taliban, in turn, deployed additional forces along the Durand Line and issued a fatwa, describing Pakistan’s actions as a “jihad trigger".

The two countries now........

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