Overview
- Fighting along the Pakistan–Afghanistan frontier killed dozens, with Kabul claiming 58 Pakistani soldiers dead and captured posts, while Islamabad reports 23 troop deaths and says it killed over 200 Taliban fighters.
- Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, speaking in New Delhi, said operations were paused after achieving objectives and warned Kabul has other options if talks with Pakistan fail.
- Muttaqi rejected accusations that the TTP operates from Afghanistan and framed Pakistan’s militant violence as a domestic problem, a claim Islamabad disputes.
- Pakistan summoned the Afghan envoy to protest a New Delhi joint statement that referenced Jammu and Kashmir as part of India and to reject Muttaqi’s remark that terrorism is an internal Pakistani issue.
- India and Afghanistan issued a joint condemnation of terrorism, and India signaled it will upgrade its Kabul presence to an embassy, developments that have heightened Islamabad’s concerns as Torkham and Chaman crossings remain shut.