New Delhi: India on Thursday (October 16) came out strongly against Pakistan over its latest clashes with Afghanistan, accusing Islamabad of harbouring terrorists and blaming it for trying to deflect from its own internal failures.

Responding to questions on the fighting between Pakistani and Afghan forces, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India was closely monitoring the situation.

He noted that Pakistan “hosts terrorist organisations and sponsors terrorist activities” and called it “an old practice of Pakistan to blame its neighbours for its own internal failures”.

Jaiswal said Pakistan was “infuriated with Afghanistan exercising sovereignty over its own territories”. He added that India remained “fully committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan”.

His statements marked a public alignment with the Taliban-led government in Kabul and came just a day after acting Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi concluded a six-day visit to New Delhi – the first by a minister of the Taliban administration since its 2021 takeover. The visit publicly demonstrated a sharp shift in Kabul’s ties, building on India’s cautious but expanding outreach over the past three years.

During the visit, India had announced that it would elevate its ‘technical mission’ in Kabul to the level of embassy. On Thursday, Jaiswal stated that the “transition to an embassy will happen in the next few days”.

The clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan were the worst in decades, involving intense ground exchanges and Pakistani airstrikes across the border from October 10 until Wednesday’s truce. It had started just as Muttaqi arrived in India for his unprecedented visit to Afghanistan.

A line of cargo trucks bound for Pakistan is stranded on the Afghan side of the Torkham border crossing, which remained closed after clashes, in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, on October 14, 2025. Photo: AP/PTI.

According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, at least 37 civilians have been killed and more than 425 wounded in Afghanistan this week, mainly in the Paktya, Paktika, Kunar, Khost, Kandahar and Helmand provinces.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told his cabinet on Thursday that Islamabad was ready for talks if Kabul accepted its “justified conditions”. He said Pakistan had “retaliated” after running out of patience with Afghanistan over a series of militant attacks and warned that the ceasefire should not be used by Kabul to “buy time”.

The 48-hour truce, which took effect at 6 pm local time on Wednesday, was requested by the Taliban government and agreed to by both sides, according to Pakistan’s foreign office. The Afghanistan Taliban’s spokesperson had claimed that the ceasefire took place at the Pakistani side’s request.

Kabul accused Pakistan of carrying out two drone strikes in the Afghan capital on Wednesday, just hours before the ceasefire came into force. Khalid Zadran, spokesperson for the Kabul police chief, said the drones hit a civilian house and a market, killing at least five people and injuring dozens.

Afghan officials described the strikes as a violation of sovereignty, while the Taliban interior ministry said it expected goodwill and respect from its neighbours.

Pakistan said it had targeted militant hideouts and reported killing 34 fighters in separate operations this week.

Islamabad has long accused Kabul of sheltering militants linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. The Taliban denies the charge and accuses Pakistan’s military of spreading misinformation and protecting ISIS-linked groups.

This article went live on October seventeenth, two thousand twenty five, at two minutes past twelve at night.

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