Pakistan Blames India as Fighting With Taliban Intensifies
NEW DELHI — Escalating hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban government have sharply strained a fragile ceasefire brokered by Qatar, with both sides trading cross-border strikes and accusations in recent days.
Pakistan launched airstrikes on Kabul and Kandahar hours after Afghanistan said it had carried out retaliatory strikes across the border. The exchange followed earlier Pakistani operations that Islamabad claimed killed 70 militants. Afghan authorities rejected that assertion, saying the strikes instead killed dozens of civilians, including women and children.
Tensions between the two neighbors have been building for months. After deadly border clashes in October 2025, Qatar mediated a ceasefire aimed at preventing further escalation along the disputed frontier. That truce now appears increasingly fragile.
Islamabad has accused the Taliban of sheltering Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group responsible for numerous attacks inside Pakistan. Afghan officials deny the allegation. The Durand Line, which forms much of the border between the two countries, has witnessed repeated violence in recent months, including suicide bombings, airstrikes, and ground battles.
Pakistan was among the first countries to congratulate the Taliban after it regained control of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Analysts say Islamabad expected continued influence in Kabul but miscalculated the evolving political landscape.
According to regional observers, Afghanistan has resisted what it perceives as Pakistan’s attempts to dictate policy, particularly on security and foreign relations. Afghan officials have accused Pakistan of trying to undermine Kabul’s ties with other regional partners.
As tensions have risen, Pakistan has also sought to link India to the conflict. Islamabad has alleged, without presenting public evidence, that India is backing the Taliban and supporting the TTP from Afghan soil. Both New Delhi and the Taliban have rejected those claims as baseless.
Indian officials have dismissed the accusations, arguing that Pakistan has a pattern of externalizing internal problems. Analysts say unease in Islamabad has grown over expanding ties between India and Afghanistan.
India has stepped up humanitarian engagement with Kabul in recent years. After a magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Afghanistan, New Delhi sent 15 tons of food to the Balkh and Samangan regions, along with medical supplies. Afghanistan’s foreign minister visited India last year, and discussions included reopening the Indian embassy in Kabul.
Regional experts say Pakistan views India’s expanding presence in Afghanistan with suspicion, seeing it as a strategic challenge. At the same time, domestic pressures in Pakistan have intensified. The government faces mounting scrutiny over the TTP insurgency, a prolonged economic crisis, and political instability linked to the handling of former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Analysts suggest that invoking India in the current crisis may serve multiple purposes for Islamabad — both to counter Kabul diplomatically and to consolidate domestic support at a time of declining public trust.
As cross-border violence continues, the breakdown of the Qatar-mediated ceasefire risks further destabilizing a region already grappling with deep political and security fault lines. (Source: IANS)
