Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Monday that as of today, there are “no ties” between Islamabad and Kabul in the fallout of Afghanistan’s unprovoked attack on the Pak-Afghan border over the weekend.
“It’s a stalemate right now. You can say there are no active hostilities, but the environment is hostile,” Asif said on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada ke Saath’.
“There are no ties, direct or indirect, as of today.”
Asif said hostilities between the two sides can resume “at any time”. “We can not rule that out, but there is certainly a lull in hostilities.
“We cannot lower our guard,” warned the defence minister.
Afghan attacks on border
At least 23 Pakistani troops were martyred[1] and more than 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists were killed in border clashes following an attack from the Afghan side late on Saturday night.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), in a statement, said overnight skirmishes between the two sides, began “on the night of Oct 11/12, 2025, [after] Afghan Taliban and India-sponsored Fitna-al-Khawarij launched an unprovoked attack on Pakistan, along the Pak-Afghan border”.
Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) while Fitna-al-Hindustan is a term designated by the state for terrorist organisations in Balochistan.
“During overnight skirmishes, 23 brave sons of Pakistan embraced shahadat (martyrdom) while defending the territorial integrity of our beloved country against this outrageous action, while 29 soldiers [were] injured.“
“According to credible intelligence estimates and damage assessment, more than 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists have been neutralised, while the number of injured is much higher,” the ISPR statement said.
Afghanistan claims it carried out the attack as a “retaliatory” measure, accusing Islamabad of conducting air strikes in its territory earlier this week. For its part, Islamabad has not confirmed whether it was behind the air strikes but maintains that Kabul should “stop harbouring the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan on its soil”.
In response to Islamabad’s repeated calls to bar terrorists from using its territory for cross-border attacks, Afghanistan denies the allegation of allowing terrorist outfits to use it soil.
More to follow