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Pakistan Alleges Kabul Fighting India’s ‘Proxy War’ Amid Border Clashes

  • By Thetripurapost Desk, Islamabad/Kabul
  • Oct 16, 2025
  • 517

Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of fighting India’s “proxy war,” days after fierce cross-border clashes between Pakistani forces and the Taliban left dozens dead on both sides.

“All of the Taliban’s decisions are being sponsored by New Delhi,” Asif claimed in a television interview on Wednesday night, adding that Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s recent visit to India reflected growing coordination between Kabul and New Delhi.

 “Muttaqi sahib has been sitting there [in India] for a week and has now returned. What plan he has brought, so, I think that Kabul is currently fighting Delhi’s proxy war,” Asif said, expressing skepticism about the sustainability of the 48-hour ceasefire agreed between the two neighbours.

 

While the Pakistani minister voiced hope that the truce would hold, he also cast doubt on the Taliban’s intentions. “I have my doubts that this [ceasefire] will hold because the Taliban, as I have told you, right now all their decisions are being sponsored by Delhi,” Asif remarked.

Tensions Rise as Kabul-Delhi Ties Deepen

The remarks come at a time when relations between Afghanistan and India appear to be warming. Muttaqi, who arrived in New Delhi on a six-day visit last week, became the first senior Taliban minister to visit India since the group’s return to power in 2021.

During his visit, he met Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and proposed stronger cooperation on regional trade and infrastructure projects, particularly the development of Iran’s Chabahar Port, which could provide Afghanistan an alternative trade route bypassing Pakistan.

Muttaqi also revealed that Afghanistan would soon send diplomats to New Delhi, signalling India’s quiet upgrade of its “technical mission” in Kabul to full embassy status.

“The foreign minister [Jaishankar] said you can send diplomats to New Delhi now. When we go back, we will select people and send them,” Muttaqi said.

 

Currently, the Afghan embassy in India continues to be staffed largely by officials appointed under former President Ashraf Ghani’s government.

 

Escalation Along the Durand Line

Even as Muttaqi held talks in New Delhi, Pakistani fighter jets reportedly struck targets in Kabul, allegedly aimed at terror leaders. The Taliban retaliated swiftly, firing at Pakistani army outposts along the Durand Line, escalating tensions into the deadliest cross-border confrontation since 2021.

Muttaqi later accused Islamabad of being involved in an attack near the border, stating,

“Just as we want good relations with India, we want good ties with Pakistan. But these relations can only be built from both sides; it can’t be done by one side.”

 

Dozens have reportedly been killed in airstrikes and ground skirmishes. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) welcomed the ceasefire but said it was still verifying the casualty count, noting that the heaviest losses were recorded in the south on Wednesday.


Regional Concerns Mount

The ongoing border crisis has alarmed regional powers, with fears that escalating Pakistan-Afghanistan hostilities could create space for militant groups such as ISIS and al-Qaida to regroup in the region.

Major trade crossings between the two countries remained closed on Thursday, and there were no reports of renewed fighting overnight.