Pakistan called on Afghanistan’s Taliban administration on Saturday to take verifiable action against militant networks operating from across the border. The appeal followed disputes over responsibility for cross-border violence.
In a statement on X, Pakistan’s Information Ministry rejected allegations that the military was arming Afghans or recruiting them to fight anti-Pakistan insurgents. Former US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad had claimed a day earlier that Islamabad was engaging in those activities. Khalilzad provided no evidence and named no sources for his claims.
Tensions have escalated between the two neighbors due to border clashes, militant activity, and Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan. Last month, Afghan authorities reported killing 28 fighters and capturing 32 others, including alleged members of the Daesh group who crossed over from Pakistan.
Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army, and an Al-Qaeda affiliate in the Indian Subcontinent. The TTP is a separate entity allied closely with the Afghan Taliban administration.
Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid responded on Friday by stating that Kabul bore no responsibility for insecurity within Pakistan. Mujahid accused Pakistani security agencies of shifting blame for their own domestic security failures. He said that Kabul held neither the interest nor the capability to destabilize neighboring countries.
Pakistan’s Information Ministry countered that those remarks failed to address documented security concerns. The ministry pointed to attempted cross-border infiltrations, the deaths of foreign nationals and militants during counterterrorism operations, and the recovery of foreign weapons.
A US report covering the first three months of 2026 estimated the strength of the Pakistani Taliban at 4,000 to 6,000 fighters, according to the ministry. Pakistani authorities are conducting multiple operations against militant groups near the Afghan frontier.
The ministry stated that these security measures targeted militant threats rather than the Afghan populace. It urged the Taliban government to halt all facilitation and support for organizations like the TTP and the BLA, and to stop Afghan soil from being used for attacks.
Militant violence has risen sharply across Pakistan in recent years. Islamabad maintains that many TTP and BLA leaders have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover in 2021, an accusation Kabul consistently denies.
Pakistani authorities report that more than 2,800 militant attacks have occurred since January, resulting in 3,000 deaths across the country, primarily in Balochistan province and the northwest.
