Militant attacks in Pakistan’s western borderlands are surging, killing hundreds of civilians, police and soldiers, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province next to Afghanistan. The jihadist Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, or Pakistani Taliban) and its affiliates are responsible for most of the mayhem. Islamabad holds Kabul responsible, accusing the Afghan Taliban of refusing to act against the Pakistani militants based in Afghan territory. Kabul retorts that the TTP insurgency is a homegrown problem. Rising tensions led to clashes between Pakistani and Afghan Taliban forces in October 2025, and another flare-up looms unless Kabul does far more to prevent cross-border incursions. Friendly countries should work to restart dialogue. Meanwhile, Islamabad should ease economic pressures on Kabul by resuming trade. An effective counter-insurgency effort in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will also require addressing local concerns and improving collaboration between the military and provincial police, including by building the latter’s capacity to counter militancy.
As militant attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa spike, the Pakistani government accuses the Afghan Taliban of actively supporting the Pakistani Taliban, with whom they share ethnic and ideological bonds. Noting the warmer relations between the Afghan Taliban and its arch-rival India, Islamabad says Kabul is in cahoots with New Delhi in this endeavour. Rejecting Islamabad’s allegations, the Afghan Taliban insist that Pakistan alone bears responsibility for reining in the TTP, as the group’s grievances are with the Pakistani state. Publicly, they deny that TTP fighters are present on Afghan soil.
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