ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has called for increased cooperation with Afghanistan.
It came in a meeting with Afghan ambassador Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal on March 21, during which the pair discussed relations between the nations and efforts to ensure lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan.
“The prime minister underlined the importance of institutional interaction and high-level exchanges to enhance bilateral trade, economic cooperation and the transit of Afghan goods through Pakistan,” Abassi’s office said.
He also “reiterated Pakistan’s support for the efforts toward Afghan reconciliation under an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process.”
The Afghan ambassador welcomed the prime minister’s comments, and said that “President Ashraf Ghani and the Afghan leadership also desire meaningful engagement with Pakistan in all areas of interaction,” according the PM’s office.
On March 17, Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Nasser Khan Janjua met Ghani, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, and his Afghan counterpart Haneef Atmar in Kabul.
During that meeting, Ghani extended an official invitation for Abbasi to visit Kabul for government-to-government talks. This was Abbasi’s first meeting with the Afghan envoy since then.
The prime minister also took the opportunity to condemn a suicide-bomb attack earlier in the day at a shrine in Kabul that killed at least 29 people. He expressed Pakistan’s solidarity with the government and people of Afghanistan in the face of terrorism.
This was reiterated by Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, which said it “strongly condemns today’s reprehensible suicide attack close to Ali Abad hospital and Kabul University. We are grieved at the loss of precious and innocent lives in this brutal attack of terrorism.”
It added: “Pakistan reiterates its unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all forms and manifestations and expresses solidarity with the government and people of Afghanistan in their fight against the menace of terrorism.”
Pakistan PM expresses desire to strengthen ties with Afghanistan
Pakistan PM expresses desire to strengthen ties with Afghanistan
Pakistan says responding to Afghan ‘offensive operations’ after border fire as tensions escalate
- Afghan Taliban spokesperson says “large-scale offensive operations” launched against Pakistani military bases
- Pakistan says Afghan forces opened “unprovoked” fire across multiple sectors along shared border
ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities said on Thursday they had launched “large-scale offensive operations” against Pakistani military bases and installations, prompting Pakistan to say its forces were responding to what it described as unprovoked fire along the shared border.
The escalation follows Islamabad’s weekend airstrikes targeting what it said were Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Daesh militant camps inside Afghanistan in response to a wave of recent bombings and attacks in Pakistan. Islamabad said the strikes killed over 100 militants, while Kabul said dozens of civilians were killed and condemned the attacks as a violation of its sovereignty.
In a post on social media platform X, Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghanistan had launched “large-scale offensive operations” in response to repeated violations by the Pakistani military.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said Afghan forces had initiated hostilities along multiple points of the frontier.
“Afghan Taliban regime unprovoked action along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border given an immediate, and effective response,” the ministry said in a statement.
The statement said Pakistani forces were targeting Taliban positions in the Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram and Bajaur sectors, claiming heavy Afghan casualties and the destruction of multiple posts and equipment. It added that Pakistan would take all necessary measures to safeguard its territorial integrity and the security of its citizens.
Separately, security officials said Pakistani forces had carried out counterattacks in several border sectors.
“Pakistan’s security forces are giving a befitting reply to the unprovoked Afghan aggression with full force,” a security official said, declining to be named.
“The Pakistani security forces’ counter-attack destroyed Taliban’s hideouts and the Khawarij fled,” they added, referring to TTP militants.
The claims from both sides could not be independently verified.
Cross-border violence has intensified in recent weeks, with Pakistan blaming a surge in suicide bombings and militant attacks on militants it says are based in Afghanistan. Kabul denies providing safe havens to anti-Pakistan militant groups.
The clashes mark the third major escalation between the neighbors in less than a year. Similar Pakistani strikes last year triggered weeklong clashes before Qatar, Türkiye and other regional actors mediated a ceasefire in October.
The 2,600-kilometer (1,600-mile) frontier, a key trade and transit corridor linking Pakistan to landlocked Afghanistan and onward to Central Asia, has faced repeated closures amid tensions, disrupting commerce and humanitarian movement. Trade between the two nations has remained closed since October 2025.
