Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has said that the recent ceasefire between Islamabad and Kabul will only hold if the Afghan Taliban prevent cross-border terrorist attacks. Speaking to Reuters, he stressed that “everything hinges on this one clause” — that no threat or violence originates from Afghan soil against Pakistan.
The truce, brokered in Doha by Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkiye, and Qatar, followed deadly border clashes that killed dozens — the worst since the Taliban takeover in 2021. Pakistani airstrikes and Taliban ground resistance erupted after Islamabad accused Kabul of sheltering Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants operating from Afghan havens.
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Asif clarified that Pakistan considers any cross-border militant activity as a breach of the agreement. “We have a ceasefire as long as there is no violation of the agreement already in force,” he said, reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to peace contingent on reciprocal action.
The Taliban government in Kabul has yet to comment, but past statements have denied harboring Pakistani insurgents. The coming week’s bilateral meeting aims to finalize details of the Doha accord — a fragile pause resting entirely on the Taliban’s ability to rein in TTP attacks that continue to test the uneasy peace between two uneasy neighbours.
