Explosions hit Kabul as Taliban make diplomatic push to India

Islamabad, Pakistan – A bid of explosions and bursts of gunfire rattled Afghanistan’s superior precocious Thursday evening, according to section media. The origin of the blasts and the grade of casualties stay unclear.

Taliban authorities spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that an detonation had been heard successful Kabul, saying the origin was nether investigation.

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“An detonation was heard successful Kabul city,” he posted connected societal media level X successful Pashto. “But don’t worry, it’s each bully and well. The mishap is nether investigation, and nary injuries person been reported yet. So acold determination is nary study of immoderate harm done.”

The incidental came amid worsening relations betwixt Afghanistan and its occidental neighbour Pakistan, which has accused the Taliban authorities – successful powerfulness since August 2021 – of providing harmless havens to equipped groups, peculiarly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad blames for a surge successful attacks connected its information forces.

The explosions besides coincided with the accomplishment of the Taliban administration’s overseas minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, successful India for a six-day visit, the archetypal specified travel since the Taliban’s instrumentality to power.

Following the Kabul explosions, speculation swirled connected societal media that Pakistan was down the attack, allegedly targeting elder TTP leaders, including its chief, Noor Wali Mehsud.

However, the Taliban person not levelled immoderate accusations yet. Pakistani information officials, speaking connected information of anonymity arsenic they were not authorised to speech to the media, neither confirmed nor denied engagement successful the Kabul explosions. “We person seen the media reports and statements from Afghan officials astir explosions successful Kabul. However, we person nary further details connected this,” 1 authoritative told Al Jazeera.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs besides did not respond to Al Jazeera’s queries.

While neither the Taliban nor the TTP has commented connected Mehsud and whether helium is safe, Mujahid’s comments suggest that nary 1 was killed successful the explosions.

Once seen arsenic heavy backed by Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban person been trying to recalibrate their overseas policy, engaging determination powers specified arsenic India, their erstwhile adversary, successful a bid to unafraid eventual diplomatic recognition.

Pakistan, meanwhile, has accused India of supporting equipped groups operating connected its soil, a complaint New Delhi denies.

Fragile thaw betwixt Kabul and Islamabad

After a bloody 2024, 1 of Pakistan’s deadliest years successful astir a decade, with much than 2,500 radical killed successful violence, some countries tried to reset their relationship.

Pakistan’s lawman premier curate Ishaq Dar visited Kabul successful April, with elder enactment connected some sides holding a bid of meetings, often mediated by China. That process led to upgraded diplomatic ties and a little lull successful unit implicit the summer.

Yet, according to the Pakistan Institute of Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), an Islamabad-based deliberation tank, unit successful the archetypal 3 quarters of 2025 astir matched the full toll of 2024.

TTP remains the singular origin for the expanding attacks since 2021, according to US-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED).

“Our information amusement that the TTP engaged successful astatine slightest 600 attacks against, oregon clashes with, information forces successful the past twelvemonth alone. Its enactment successful 2025 truthful acold already exceeds that seen successful each of 2024,” a caller study by the ACLED pointed out.

And successful caller days, Pakistan has witnessed a further escalation successful violence. A drawstring of assaults has killed dozens of soldiers, mostly successful the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which shares a agelong and porous borderline with Afghanistan. The Pakistani subject connected Friday said it killed much than 30 fighters progressive successful a recent attack successful the tribal territory of Orakzai.

In September alone, astatine slightest 135 radical were killed and 173 injured. After visiting wounded soldiers pursuing raids that killed 19 personnel, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a stark informing to Afghanistan.

“Choose 1 of 2 paths. If they privation to found relations with Pakistan with genuine goodwill, sincerity and honesty, we are acceptable for that. But if they take to broadside with terrorists and enactment them, past we volition person thing to bash with the Afghan interim government,” Sharif said connected September 13.

On Thursday, Defence Minister Khwaja Asif besides accused Afghanistan of enabling unit successful Pakistan portion speaking connected the level of the parliament

“Despite years of negotiations with the Afghan authorities and delegations coming and going to Kabul, the bloodshed successful Pakistan has not stopped. Daily funerals of subject unit are being held. We are paying the terms of 60 years of hospitality to 6 cardinal Afghan refugees with our blood,” helium said.

Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghan refugees since the 1980s, archetypal aft the Soviet invasion, past during the Taliban’s archetypal regularisation successful the 1990s, and again aft their 2021 takeover.

Since November 2023, Islamabad has been carrying retired a mass expulsion campaign, forcing Afghans – galore of whom person lived successful Pakistan for decades – to instrumentality home. Government figures accidental astir a cardinal person been sent backmost truthful far.

Deepening mistrust

The tensions betwixt Pakistan and the Taliban successful caller years person besides escalated into subject clashes.

The Pakistani subject has antecedently conducted airstrikes wrong Afghan territory, the astir recent one successful December 2024.

Analysts accidental that if the latest explosions were so linked to Pakistan, the implications could beryllium serious.

Tameem Bahiss, a information expert based successful Kabul, said the Taliban person consistently denied harbouring TTP fighters, and immoderate ceremonial acknowledgement of strikes wrong the superior could inflame tensions.

“We’ve seen earlier those erstwhile Pakistani airstrikes wrong Afghanistan yielded nary factual results. Instead, they lone deepened mistrust and made practice connected countering the TTP much difficult. This latest incidental volition apt harden positions further, making dialog and coordination adjacent much complicated,” helium told Al Jazeera.

The past large targeted onslaught successful Kabul took spot successful 2022, erstwhile al-Qaeda person Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed successful a US drone attack.

Ihsanullah Tipu Mehsud, an Islamabad-based information analyst, said that if Pakistan was progressive successful the attacks, they may have been intended arsenic a informing pursuing caller attacks connected Pakistani soil.

Mehsud, who co-founded The Khorasan Diary, a security-focused quality outlet, said the explosions could awesome Pakistan’s intent to prosecute high-value targets crossed the border.

“Pakistan could effort and people individuals successful Kabul, which is the governmental capital, arsenic good arsenic those successful Kandahar, which is seen arsenic the spiritual superior of Taliban, successful lawsuit information concern successful Pakistan remains dire and Afghan Taliban don’t rein successful the TTP,” helium cautioned.

Bahiss, however, warned that immoderate cross-border strikes could backfire.

“If Pakistan continues to grow its strikes wrong Afghanistan, much Afghans whitethorn statesman to sympathise with the TTP. This sympathy could construe into caller recruits, funding, and perchance adjacent quiescent enactment from immoderate segments wrong the Afghan Taliban,” helium said.

He added that if Pakistan so was targeting TTP leaders wrong Afghanistan, that could provoke the radical into escalating attacks wrong Pakistan.

“If TTP leaders person so been targeted oregon killed wrong Kabul, that would besides service arsenic a informing to the group, showing that they are not harmless adjacent successful the capital,” Bahiss said. “The TTP volition apt accommodate by tightening its information measures, relocating its leadership, and perchance retaliating done much assertive attacks successful Pakistan.”