The Taliban have blamed Pakistan for an explosion in Kabul and another in the eastern Afghanistan province of Paktika on Thursday, amid mounting tensions between the neighbours and shifting allegiances in South Asia that have alarmed Islamabad, reports Al Jazeera.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid had confirmed that an explosion had been heard in Kabul, saying the cause was under investigation, on Thursday, but at the time downplayed its severity. He did not ascribe any blame.
“An explosion was heard in Kabul city,” he posted on social media platform X in Pashto. “But don’t worry, it’s all good and well. The accident is under investigation, and no injuries have been reported yet. So far, there is no report of any harm done.”
But on Friday, the Afghan Ministry of Defence blamed Pakistan for the Kabul and Paktika blasts, without sharing any details.
The incident came amid plummeting relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which has accused the Taliban government – in power since August 2021 – of providing a haven to armed groups, particularly the Pakistan Taliban, known by its acronym TTP, which Islamabad blames for a surge in attacks on its security forces.
The explosions also coincided with the arrival on Thursday of the Taliban administration’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, in India for a six-day visit, the first such trip since the Taliban’s return to power.
Following the Kabul explosions, speculation swirled on social media that Pakistan was behind the attack, allegedly targeting senior TTP leaders, including its chief, Noor Wali Mehsud. Afghan officials have since said Mehsud is safe.
Asked at a news conference on Friday if the Pakistani military had attacked Afghanistan to assassinate TTP leaders, the country’s army spokesman Ahmad Sharif did not either confirm or deny the accusation.
“Afghanistan is being used as a base of operations against Pakistan, and there is proof and evidence of that,” Sharif said. “The necessary measures that should be taken to protect the lives and property of the people of Pakistan will be taken and will continue to be taken.”
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to Al Jazeera’s queries about the explosion.
Once seen as heavily backed by Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban have been trying to recalibrate their foreign policy, engaging regional powers such as India, their former adversary, in a bid to secure eventual diplomatic recognition.
Pakistan, meanwhile, has accused India of supporting armed groups operating on its soil, a charge New Delhi denies.
After a bloody 2024, one of Pakistan’s deadliest years in nearly a decade, with more than 2,500 people killed in violence, both countries tried to reset their relationship.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar visited Kabul in April, with senior leadership on both sides holding a series of meetings, often mediated by China. That process led to upgraded diplomatic ties and a brief lull in violence over the summer.
Yet, according to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), an Islamabad-based think tank, violence in the first three quarters of 2025 nearly matched the entire toll of 2024.
TTP remains the singular cause for the increasing attacks since 2021, according to the US-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED).
“Our data show that the TTP engaged in at least 600 attacks against, or clashes with, security forces in the past year alone. Its activity in 2025 so far already exceeds that seen in all of 2024,” a recent report by ACLED pointed out.
And in recent days, Pakistan has witnessed a further escalation in violence. A string of assaults has killed dozens of soldiers, mostly in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which shares a long and porous border with Afghanistan. The Pakistani military on Friday said it killed more than 30 fighters involved in a recent attack in the tribal district of Orakzai.
In September alone, at least 135 people were killed and 173 injured. After visiting wounded soldiers following raids that killed 19 personnel, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a stark warning to Afghanistan.
“Choose one of two paths. If they wish to establish relations with Pakistan with genuine goodwill, sincerity and honesty, we are ready for that. But if they choose to side with terrorists and support them, then we will have nothing to do with the Afghan interim government,” Sharif said on September 13.
On Thursday, Defence Minister Khwaja Asif also accused Afghanistan of enabling violence in Pakistan while speaking on the floor of the parliament.
“Despite years of negotiations with the Afghan government and delegations coming and going to Kabul, the bloodshed in Pakistan has not stopped. Daily funerals of military personnel are being held. We are paying the price of 60 years of hospitality to 6 million Afghan refugees with our blood,” he said.
Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghan refugees since the 1980s, first after the Soviet invasion, then during the Taliban’s initial rule in the 1990s, and again after their 2021 takeover.
Bd-pratidin English/TR
