**Afghan and Pakistani Delegations Head to Doha Amid Deadly Border Clashes**
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghan and Pakistani delegations are en route to the Qatari capital, Doha, in a bid to defuse the deadliest crisis between the two nations in several years. The recent clashes, spanning more than a week, have resulted in dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries on both sides of the border.
The Taliban government announced on Saturday that the Afghan delegation traveling to Doha includes the defense minister and the head of the national intelligence agency. Meanwhile, a Pakistani delegation was scheduled to depart on Saturday, according to the national broadcaster PTV; however, no further details were provided.
Each country accuses the other of initiating aggression. Pakistan alleges that Afghanistan harbors militants who carry out attacks in border regions—a claim strongly rejected by the Taliban government. Regional powers such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar have urged calm as the escalating violence threatens to further destabilize a region where extremist groups like the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaida are attempting to regain strength.
A 48-hour ceasefire intended to pause hostilities expired Friday evening, after which Pakistan launched strikes across the border. Pakistani security officials confirmed to The Associated Press that operations targeted two districts in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province. The strikes focused on hideouts of the militant Hafiz Gul Bahadur group. Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity due to lack of authorization to speak publicly, described the operation as a direct response to a suicide bombing on a Pakistani security forces compound in Mir Ali, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which occurred the day before.
The Pakistani Air Force raids reportedly killed dozens of armed fighters with no civilian casualties, according to Pakistani officials. However, Afghan officials contested this, stating that the aerial assaults killed at least 10 civilians, including women and children.
In response to the attacks, Afghanistan’s national cricket board announced a boycott of an upcoming series in Pakistan.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman, condemned the “repeated crimes of Pakistani forces and the violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty.” He described these actions as provocative and as “deliberate attempts” to prolong the conflict.
The two countries share a 2,611-kilometer (1,622-mile) border known as the Durand Line, which Afghanistan has never formally recognized. Pakistan continues to face rising militancy, particularly in regions bordering Afghanistan, and accuses its nuclear-armed neighbor—and long-time rival—India of supporting armed groups, although it has not provided evidence to substantiate these claims.
Pakistan’s army chief, General Asim Munir, called on Afghans to prioritize “mutual security over perpetual violence and progress over hardline obscurantism.” Speaking on Saturday at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he stressed that “the Taliban must rein in the proxies who have sanctuaries in Afghanistan.”
___
Associated Press writers Abdul Qahar Afghan in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Sajjad Tarakzai in Islamabad, and Riaz Khan in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
https://wtop.com/world/2025/10/afghan-and-pakistani-delegations-head-to-doha-for-crisis-talks/
