Pakistan urged Afghanistan's Taliban government on Saturday to take verifiable action against militants it says operate from Afghan territory, dismissing Kabul's argument that Islamabad is shifting blame for its own security failures.

The two disputes running in parallel

The first dispute is over cross-border militancy. Pakistan frequently accuses Kabul of sheltering the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, as well as the Baloch Liberation Army and al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent. The TTP is separate from, but closely allied with, Afghanistan's ruling Taliban. Pakistan says repeated border clashes and Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan have made the disagreement more dangerous.

The second dispute concerns allegations by former US envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, who wrote on Friday that there had been reports of Pakistan arming Afghans to fight the Taliban inside Afghanistan, and of the Pakistani military recruiting Afghans to fight anti-Pakistan insurgents. Khalilzad offered no evidence and did not identify the sources of those reports.

Pakistan's response

In a statement on X, Pakistan's Information Ministry rejected both allegations. It also rejected the Afghan government's argument that Pakistan is blaming Kabul for its own security failures, citing evidence of militant infiltration from Afghanistan into Pakistan as proof that the roots of its militant problems lie across the border.

The exchanges come amid heightened tensions between the two sides, with border clashes, airstrikes and a war of statements replacing quieter diplomacy. Neither side has published the evidence it cites, so readers should treat both governments' claims as contested positions rather than established facts, and watch for any independent verification in the days ahead.