Welcomes Trump to mediate between Islamabad and Kabul with a 48-hour ceasefire in the offing
Any violation by Afghanistan will result in a quick response from Pakistan: Khawaja Asif
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has warned that if Afghanistan breaks the 48-hour ceasefire set since 18 Wednesday (yesterday) at the latter’s request, Pakistan will be forced to respond.
Addressing a news segment aired by a private television channel, Asif said the Afghan Taliban regime was effectively serving India’s interests, with the government in Kabul fighting a proxy war on India’s behalf.
Referring to the US president, the defense minister said: “Donald Trump has made efforts for ceasefires at the global level, and if he also wants to mediate for a ceasefire here, he is very welcome”.
Read: Explained: Pakistan-Afghanistan border conflict
Tensions along the Pak-Afghan border escalated last weekend as clashes erupted after Afghanistan opened unprovoked fire at several locations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan, prompting a swift and forceful response by the Pakistan Army. Several Afghan positions were destroyed and dozens of Afghan soldiers and militants were killed.
Asif claimed that the Taliban’s intentions are not to bring peace but to escalate the conflict. “The tanks that Afghanistan is showing do not even exist in our arsenal. It is beyond belief why they are making such false claims – I don’t know from which junkyard they bought these tanks,” he said.
Asif further stated that Pakistan had agreed to hold talks and applied for visas in response to proposals from friendly countries for dialogue. But when the clashes broke out, the process was suspended and visa applications were withdrawn.
Read more: The Taliban regime gets a 48-hour reprieve
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the first confrontation took place on the night of 11-12 October when Afghan Taliban forces, backed by “Indian-sponsored elements of Fitna al Khawarij”, launched an unprovoked attack on Pakistan along the border.
Fitna al Khawarij is the state’s term for terrorists associated with the banned outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) coined in May 2025.
A 48-hour ceasefire was agreed at the behest of the Afghan Taliban regime following Pakistan’s “precision strikes” on Taliban and terrorist hideouts in Kandahar and Kabul.
According to the State Department, the decision was made at the request of the Taliban and with the mutual consent of both sides. Both parties must engage in constructive dialogue and make sincere efforts to find a “positive solution to a complex but solvable problem,” the ministry said.
