In a move that could be perceived as Pakistan’s growing insecurity over the thaw in ties between India and Afghanistan, Islamabad on Thursday night (October 9, 2025) shook Kabul with cross-border strikes targeting Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) camps in the capital city.
The timing was unmistakable as the attack came at a time when Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi is on his maiden visit to India, signaling a growing discomfort in Islamabad as New Delhi deepens its engagement with Kabul. Pakistan’s strikes follow a visible decline in its relations with the Taliban regime.
Islamabad has accused Afghanistan of aiding and sheltering the Pakistan Taliban (TTP), even as Kabul opens channels with India, a move seen as strategically unsettling for Pakistan. Local reports said the aerial operation near Shahid Abdul Haq Square aimed to eliminate TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud, who assumed leadership in 2018.
Although Pakistan did not name him directly, it claimed its forces had killed 30 militants linked to an October 7 ambush on a Pakistani military convoy that left 11 soldiers, including two senior officers, dead.
Was Pak air strike on TTP camps successful or symbolic?
Despite Pakistani media claims of his death, Mehsud released an audio message denying any injury or disappearance. Long seen by Islamabad as a major insurgent threat, he considers Pakistan’s post-9/11 alignment with the US a betrayal and has orchestrated multiple deadly attacks, including one on October 8.
Former US envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad called the strikes a “huge escalation” and warned of potential regional fallout. He highlighted Pakistan’s contradictory conduct i.e. backing ISIS-linked actors against Afghanistan and Baloch insurgents, while accusing Kabul of tolerating TTP.
The operation came barely 24 hours after Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif issued a blunt threat in the National Assembly, declaring Islamabad’s patience had “run out” over militant activity from Afghan soil.
Is Pakistan admitting its terror Frankenstein has boomeranged?
On Friday (October 10, 2025), Asif indirectly acknowledged Pakistan’s decades of patronage toward militant groups had backfired. He lamented that despite negotiations with Kabul, attacks on Pakistani forces persist. “We are paying the price of 60 years of hospitality to 6 million Afghan refugees with our blood,” he said.
“Despite years of negotiations with the Afghan government, the bloodshed in Pakistan has not stopped. Daily funerals of military personnel are being held.” Asif further urged that “the time has come for Afghan guests to return to their homes”, noting “enough is enough.”
Is Pak’s latest strike a signal to both Kabul and New Delhi?
While it can’t be said for sure but the fact remains that the strikes were strategically timed to apparently convey a dual message – pressure the Taliban and to caution India as it steps up outreach to Kabul despite not formally recognising the regime. Muttaqi’s presence in India adds to the symbolism.
His six-day visit, including talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, marks the highest-level engagement since the Taliban takeover in August 2021. The Taliban’s condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 people, helped thaw relations with India.
Kabul’s tensions with Pakistan have further opened the door for New Delhi to scale up diplomatic and humanitarian engagement. India has already dispatched several consignments of relief materials, and Afghanistan has signaled interest in strengthening political, economic, and security dialogue.