Pakistan-Afghanistan Conflict and the Question of Cross-Border Terrorism

13 Nov 2025 11:09 AM

The latest round of Pakistan-Afghanistan violence and negotiations highlights how Pakistan’s cyclical policy failures and Afghan Taliban’s tolerance for terrorist havens threaten to derail any prospects for durable peace in the region.

As the second round negotiations between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Istanbul stalled, then broke down, a permanent solution to the crisis appears far out of reach. Talks since 19 October have been marked by deadlock and uncertainty, but the future of a permanent and sustainable peace agreement looks no brighter. Pakistan and Afghanistan do not have any further scheduled negotiations, although future talks remain on the table. But even as all parties seek to pursue this objective, thousands of kilometres from Istanbul, the Af-Pak region is marred by armed clashes between Pakistan and Afghan Taliban regime’s ally, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Such turmoil is not unfamiliar to either country, particularly in their border region, but this time Pakistan’s government appears to have run out of patience with militant attacks on its territory, with demands for immediate, decisive action intensifying in Islamabad. Across the border, Afghanistan denies the accusation that it is harbouring the militants terrorising Pakistan’s neighbouring province. With the backdrop of these staunch national positions, negotiations are struggling to resolve the underlying conflict centring around the TTP: one’s ally and the other’s enemy.

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