An Afghan man looks on as he stands on his damaged balcony in Kabul on October 16, 2025, a day after an airstrike during cross-border clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan. WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP
Pakistan officials will hold talks in Qatar on Saturday, October 18, with their Afghan counterparts, a day after Islamabad launched air strikes on its neighbor, killing at least 10 people and breaking a ceasefire that had brought two days of calm to the border. "Defense Minister Khawaja Asif and intelligence chief General Asim Malik will be heading to Doha today for talks with Afghan Taliban," Pakistan state TV said.
An Afghan Taliban government official also confirmed the talks would take place. "A high-level delegation from the Islamic Emirate, led by Defense Minister Mohammed Yaqub, left for Doha today," Afghan Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on X.
A 48-hour truce paused nearly a week of bloody border clashes that killed dozens of troops and civilians on both sides. But late Friday, Afghanistan accused Pakistan of breaking the ceasefire, with deadly effect. "Pakistan has broken the ceasefire and bombed three locations in Paktika" province, a senior Taliban official told Agence France-Presse (AFP), speaking on condition of anonymity. "Afghanistan will retaliate."
