Pakistan, Afghanistan Officials to Hold Talks in Doha After Deadly Border Strikes

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and intelligence chief Lt. General Asim Malik are set to travel to Doha on Saturday for talks with senior representatives of the Afghan Taliban, state-run Pakistan Television (PTV) reported, amid escalating tensions following renewed cross-border airstrikes.

The meeting comes just hours after Pakistan carried out what it described as “precision aerial strikes” in Afghanistan’s border regions on Friday, targeting what officials said were positions of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group — a faction linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

According to Afghan authorities, the strikes killed at least 10 people, including three Afghan cricketers who were in the area for a local tournament. The Afghanistan Cricket Board later confirmed the deaths of the players, revising an earlier toll that had reported eight fatalities.

The latest airstrikes ended a fragile 48-hour truce that had brought temporary calm after nearly a week of intense border clashes between the two countries. Fighting first erupted last Saturday, with Pakistani forces launching strikes in Afghanistan’s Kandahar and Kabul provinces. The violence has since claimed dozens of lives on both sides.

“Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Intelligence Chief Lt. General Asim Malik are scheduled to depart for Doha on Saturday,” PTV reported. “The Taliban delegation is expected to be of equivalent seniority.”

Pakistan’s security officials said the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group had been behind a suicide bombing and gun attack on a military camp in North Waziristan earlier on Friday, which killed seven Pakistani paramilitary troops.

The renewed hostilities come as Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban government of sheltering banned militant organisations, including the TTP and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), which it says conduct cross-border attacks on Pakistani security forces. Kabul has repeatedly denied the allegations.

Friday’s escalation prompted international concern, with U.S. President Donald Trump offering to mediate between the two neighbours. Speaking at the White House during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump said, “I do understand that Pakistan attacked or there is an attack going on with Afghanistan. That’s an easy one for me to solve if I have to solve it. In the meantime, I have to run the USA. But I love solving wars.”

The talks in Doha are expected to focus on restoring calm along the border and addressing Pakistan’s security concerns, though analysts warn that deep mistrust and competing political interests could complicate any progress.

The violence has also begun spilling into other areas, including sports relations, after Afghanistan withdrew from a tri-nation T20 cricket series in Pakistan in protest over the airstrikes that killed its players.

As the two delegations prepare to meet in Qatar, the fragile ceasefire and mounting civilian casualties have underscored the urgent need for dialogue to prevent further escalation between the neighbouring countries.