United States President Donald Trump has said Washington will not intervene in the ongoing hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan, stressing that he maintains “very good relations” with Islamabad.
Speaking to reporters, President Trump said he could step in if necessary but indicated that the US does not intend to interfere at this stage. “Well, I would (intervene), but I get along with Pakistan very well. Very, very well. You have a great Prime Minister, you have a great general there — two of the people that I really respect a lot,” he said.
The US president was referring to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, praising both leaders and expressing confidence that Pakistan is “moving forward very strongly.”
US backs Pakistan’s ‘right to defend’
In a separate statement, the US State Department said it supports Pakistan’s “right to defend itself” against attacks from the Afghan Taliban, which it described as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group.
A State Department spokesperson said Washington was aware of the “outbreak of fighting between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban” and expressed sadness over the loss of life. The statement added that the Taliban had “consistently failed to uphold their counterterrorism commitments” and that terrorist groups continue to use Afghan soil as a launching pad for attacks.
Escalation into ‘open war’
The remarks came as Islamabad and Kabul entered what Pakistani officials termed an “open war” following intensified cross-border clashes.
According to Pakistani authorities, the escalation began after what they described as unprovoked firing by Afghan Taliban forces along multiple sectors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Chitral, Khyber, Mohmand, Kurram and Bajaur.
In response, Pakistan launched retaliatory strikes under Operation Ghazab lil-Haq (Righteous Fury). Officials said the Pakistan Air Force carried out targeted strikes in Kandahar, Kabul and Paktia, destroying several key Taliban positions and inflicting heavy losses.
Pakistani authorities stated that 12 security personnel were martyred and 27 injured in the clashes, while claiming that 331 Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed so far. These figures have not been independently verified.
Terror concerns and Doha Agreement
The recent surge in tensions follows a series of suicide bombings in Islamabad, Bajaur and Bannu, which Pakistani officials say were traced back to militants operating from Afghan territory.
Islamabad has long urged Kabul to prevent its soil from being used by banned groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also referred to by Pakistani authorities as Fitna al Khawarij (FAK), and Daesh-Khorasan.
Prime Minister’s spokesperson for Foreign Media, Mosharraf Zaidi, said Afghan Taliban authorities had allowed militant groups to operate from their territory, calling it a violation of commitments made under the Doha Agreement.
Pakistan and Afghanistan had previously agreed to a ceasefire in October 2025 after border tensions flared. Subsequent talks mediated by Qatar and Turkiye sought to stabilise the situation, but Pakistani officials say the core issue of cross-border militancy remains unresolved.
With fighting ongoing and diplomatic channels under strain, Washington’s decision to stay out of direct involvement signals that the United States will, for now, limit its role to political support and counterterrorism messaging rather than active mediation in the Islamabad–Kabul conflict.
