Tensions rise between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with the possibility of war looming

October 15, 2025

Abhsihek Vij

US President Trump, in an effort to become a global peacemaker, is brokering agreements between warring countries. He has already been credited with stopping the war between Hamas and Israel. Trump is being courted for the Nobel Prize. His next mission is to end tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

However, a bitter front is expected to open between the two neighboring countries. The border conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan is expected to intensify. Afghanistan claims that Pakistan crossed its border and launched an airstrike.

In response, Afghan fighters launched a cross-border operation, killing 58 Pakistani soldiers. Pakistan did not accept this, claiming to have retaliated and captured 19 Afghan border posts and terrorist hideouts. Naturally, the Taliban also refused to acknowledge this. The Taliban claimed to have captured 20 Pakistani posts. The Taliban accused Pakistan of harboring ISIS terrorists on its soil. The Taliban has described Pakistan’s support of terrorism as a threat to the entire world. The Taliban claim that they have eliminated all elements causing instability in Afghanistan, but now they have established their new base in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region.

It should be noted that peace is also rife in Pakhtunkhwa. Baloch fighters, whom Pakistan calls terrorists, are waging an insurgency there. Pakistan, demonstrating its arrogance, has stated regarding the Pak-Afghan conflict that just as it has given a befitting reply to India, it will teach Afghanistan such a lesson that Afghanistan will never dare to look at Pakistan with an evil eye.
Home Minister Mohsin Naqvi stated that Pakistan will not remain silent after the recent attacks and will retaliate with a stone. The current posture, along with the claims by both sides of capturing each other’s posts, suggests that this bitterness will not subside anytime soon. Pakistan claims that only 23 of its soldiers were martyred, while it has killed over 200 Taliban fighters. The Taliban’s response is the opposite. Now, Saudi Arabia has also entered the picture. It has called on both countries to exercise restraint, avoid escalation, and adopt dialogue and understanding.

But it seems unlikely that this message will be heeded. Recently, Pakistan has attempted to establish a NATO organization of Islamic countries, similar to the NATO organization, but now, with such acrimony and escalating tensions, the prospects for such an organization are dimmed. Meanwhile, Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, who is currently visiting India, has stated that Afghanistan seeks a peaceful solution, but if efforts fail, the country is fully capable of responding to external aggression. This is a sad situation for those who dream of world peace. Afghan forces claimed to have targeted Pakistani posts in Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir, and Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, while Pakistan is making its own claims. If the international community does not facilitate dialogue soon, things will worsen. Here, following the policy of enemy’s enemy is friend, India has taken steps towards friendship with Afghanistan, which does not seem wrong in this situation.