The border skirmishes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which erupted while Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was on a week-long visit to India, have laid bare the contradictions of Kabul's foreign policy and the fallacy of Taliban control. As the Taliban regime deepens its diplomatic embrace with New Delhi, it simultaneously allows its soil to be used for launching deadly attacks against Pakistan, a country that has long championed Afghanistan's stability, even when the world turned its back.

On the night of October 11–12, 2025, Taliban fighters and affiliated militants launched an unprovoked assault on Pakistani border posts, resulting in the martyrdom of 23 Pakistani soldiers. Pakistan responded with force, killing more than 200 militants, many of whom were linked to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a group that continues to find sanctuary in Afghanistan. This attack was not an isolated incident but part of a growing pattern of cross-border terrorism that has intensified since the Taliban's return to power in August 2021.

Pakistan has been ranked the second most-affected country in the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) 2025, with TTP emerging as the world's fastest-growing terrorist organisation, based on a 90% increase in deaths linked to its attacks.

Pakistan has made sincere efforts to engage Kabul constructively. From humanitarian aid to trade facilitation, from border management to regional........

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