Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has expressed doubt over the durability of the ceasefire with the Taliban, alleging the Taliban are now making decisions backed by India.
“I have my doubts that it will hold,” Asif said in a televised interview, referring to the ceasefire. “The Taliban, as I told you, their decisions at the moment are all being sponsored from Delhi.”
Asif questioned the recent visit of Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to India, suggesting the trip signaled deeper coordination between the Taliban and Indian authorities.
“Muttaqi stayed there for a week, now he’s come back—what plan has he brought with him?” he said. “I think right now, Kabul is fighting as a proxy for Delhi’s interests.”
He added that it remains unclear whether India’s influence can be countered or whether the Taliban can be influenced diplomatically. “It’s a bit premature for me to comment on that,” Asif said.
His remarks come just a day after Taliban and Pakistani officials declared a 48-hour ceasefire on Wednesday following several days of intense border clashes and reported airstrikes in Kandahar and Kabul.
Two explosions struck Kabul’s Taimani neighborhood Wednesday afternoon, which Pakistan’s state media claimed were the result of airstrikes targeting Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) positions. EMERGENCY hospital later confirmed five people were killed and 35 injured in the blasts, including women and children. Ten of the wounded were reported in critical condition.
Earlier on Wednesday, Taliban and Pakistani forces also clashed in four districts of Paktika province and in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar. Local sources reported that parts of Spin Boldak were targeted by Pakistani airstrikes.
Tensions along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border have escalated sharply in recent weeks, raising fears of further instability across the region.
