Pakistan and Afghanistan are holding emergency talks in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday, following renewed cross-border clashes that shattered a fragile ceasefire and left at least 10 civilians dead.
According to Pakistan’s state television, the delegation from Islamabad is led by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and intelligence chief General Asim Malik, who are meeting with their Afghan counterparts to address the escalating border tensions.
An Afghan Taliban official confirmed the talks, saying, “A high-level delegation from the Islamic Emirate, led by Defense Minister Mohammed Yaqub, left for Doha today,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid announced on X (formerly Twitter).
The meeting follows airstrikes reportedly carried out by Pakistan in Afghanistan’s Paktika Province late Friday, which Afghan authorities said violated a 48-hour truce that had temporarily paused nearly a week of bloody clashes along the border.
A senior Taliban official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said, “Pakistan has broken the ceasefire and bombed three locations in Paktika. Afghanistan will retaliate.”
Hospital sources confirmed that 10 civilians, including two children, were killed and 12 others injured in the strikes. Among the victims were three Afghan cricketers participating in a domestic tournament, according to the Afghanistan Cricket Board, which has now withdrawn from the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I Series scheduled with Pakistan next month.
Meanwhile, Pakistani security officials described the airstrikes as “precision aerial operations” targeting the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, a local faction linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan —also known as the Pakistani Taliban.
Islamabad said the group was behind a recent suicide bombing and gun attack on a military camp in North Waziristan, which killed seven paramilitary officers.
Security analysts say the renewed conflict highlights deep-seated mistrust between the two countries. Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan of harbouring TTP militants, a charge the Taliban government denies.
The situation worsened after recent explosions in Kabul, which coincided with the Taliban foreign minister’s visit to India, Pakistan’s long-time regional rival. Pakistan’s Defence Minister Asif accused Kabul of “acting as a proxy of India and plotting against Pakistan.”
He warned on X that “from now on, demarches will no longer be framed as appeals for peace, and delegations will not be sent to Kabul. Wherever the source of terrorism is, it will have to pay a heavy price.”
Despite the rising tensions, the Taliban’s Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghan troops have been instructed to maintain restraint unless provoked. “If they [Pakistani forces] do, then you have every right to defend your country,” he said during an interview with Afghan broadcaster Ariana TV.
