Spokesperson says the two countries are actively communicating but “no formal government currently exists in Kabul”
The Afghan Taliban regime currently in place in Afghanistan is not truly representative of the Afghan people, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali briefed the media on the current situation. Both the Pakistani embassy in Kabul and the Afghan embassy in Islamabad are fully functional and routine diplomatic communications continue, he said.
Yet, the spokesperson said, “no formal government currently exists in Kabul and one group holds power by force.” The current administration in Kabul does not represent the Afghan people, Ali said. “Afghans will one day elect a government led by their true representatives.”
The first direct contacts were established last week after tensions escalated, with both sides reporting heavy casualties in clashes along the Pak-Afghan border last weekend. This was done with the support of friendly countries, the FO spokesperson said, adding that there were currently no negotiations or agreements regarding Doha.
A 48-hour ceasefire was established last Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Ali stressed that Pakistan’s targeted precision strikes were defensive and not directed against the Afghan people. Pakistan continues to prefer dialogue as the way forward, he added.
The Afghan Taliban regime cannot shirk its obligation to ensure peace and stability in the region and beyond by deflecting responsibility for its failure to control terrorism against Pakistan, the FO spokesperson said.
“Pakistan has hosted four million Afghan citizens and remains committed to legal and humanitarian measures regarding their presence,” he said.
He condemned the desecration of bodies by the Afghan Taliban. “This is unacceptable,” Ali said, adding that the issue had been raised before the Kabul administration.
Islamabad reiterated its concerns over provocations by the Afghan Taliban and terrorist groups Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan.
Read: Suicide attack on security forces camp in Mir Ali, North Waziristan foiled
The latter two are terms that the state introduced after the war with India in May 2025, the first referring to terrorists affiliated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the second generally reserved for banned separatist groups.
The spokesperson rejected Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s statements made in India and criticized the joint statement issued during the Acting Foreign Minister’s visit to India, in which he described Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) as part of India. “This amounts to denying the rights of the people of occupied Kashmir,” Ali said.
The spokesperson highlighted India’s support to terrorist groups in Afghanistan, including the TTP and the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), through training facilities, day care centers and other activities. “India’s negative role is no secret and its foreign ministry’s statements are known to the public. »
Ali reiterated that Islamabad vehemently rejected the acting Afghan foreign minister’s assertion that terrorism was Islamabad’s “internal problem”.
He said references to Jammu and Kashmir as part of India violate relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and disregard the legal status of the territory.
Also read: Pakistan accepts Afghan Taliban regime’s 48-hour ceasefire request
The joint statement, he added, is very insensitive to the sacrifices and sentiments of the people of IIOJK in their just struggle for the right to self-determination.
Pakistan maintains contacts with the ruling group in Kabul while pushing for action against terrorism, according to the FO spokesperson.
Pakistan-Afghanistan ceasefire
A confrontation took place on the night of October 11-12, when Afghan Taliban forces, supported by “Indian-sponsored Fitna al-Khawarij elements”, launched an unprovoked attack on Pakistan along the border, according to the military’s media wing.
“This cowardly action, which included shooting and some physical raids, aimed to destabilize border areas to facilitate terrorism, thereby furthering the nefarious designs of the FAK,” Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement.
Security forces, exercising their right of self-defence, decisively repelled the assaults along the border and inflicted heavy losses on Taliban forces and affiliated Khawarij terrorists, the ISPR said.
On October 15, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban regime had agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire following Pakistan’s “precision strikes” against the Taliban and terrorist hideouts in Kandahar and Kabul.
According to the ministry, the decision was taken at the request of the Taliban and with the mutual consent of both parties. During the ceasefire, the two sides will maintain constructive dialogue to make sincere efforts to find a positive solution to a complex but solvable issue, the ministry said.
“This temporary pause aims to create space for meaningful discussions and promote stability along the border,” the ministry said in a statement.
