Amid Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi visited India for talks, Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Kabul against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) targeting the capital. As Indian Foreign Minister exchanged in talks with Muttaqi this strike took place. Former U.S. diplomat Zalmay Khalilzad called the strikes “a huge escalation,” though Pakistan claims it conducted “retribution operations”.
What once was a decades‑long alliance between Pakistan and the Taliban now appears to be unraveling. Islamabad has long used the Taliban to project influence into Afghanistan, but recent attacks inside Pakistan by the TTP—coupled with Kabul’s rejection of foreign bases—have fractured trust. India, meanwhile, is walking a delicate line: engaging the Taliban pragmatically while demanding guarantees on counterterrorism.