KABUL (Dispatches) -- 
Pakistan’s military accused Afghanistan’s Taliban administration on Saturday of harboring militants responsible for cross-border attacks, warning it reserved the right to self-defense, as the Taliban countered that any Pakistani military action inside Afghan territory would trigger a “crushing response.”
The sharply escalating rhetoric marks the latest deterioration in relations between Islamabad and Kabul, which have repeatedly clashed over allegations that Afghan soil is used to launch attacks in Pakistan.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director general of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations, told Arab News that Pakistan’s sole demand from the Taliban government was that Afghan territory not be used for terrorism. 
He said nearly 80% of suicide bombers in Pakistan were Afghan nationals and that Afghan citizens were present in “every terrorist formation” attempting to enter the country.
“If they do not fix it, then the state of Pakistan will fix it in the way it should be,” Chaudhry said, adding that Islamabad retained the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter if the Taliban failed to honor commitments made under the 2020 Doha Agreement.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid rejected the allegations in an interview with Al Arabiya English, saying Kabul does not permit the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan to operate from Afghan soil. 
“If Pakistan invokes Article 51 to violate the sanctity of Afghan territory, Afghanistan has the right to defend its country, and we will do so,” Mujahid said.
Despite the warnings, Mujahid said Afghanistan remained open to dialogue and welcomed mediation efforts by Saudi Arabia, which maintains friendly relations with both countries.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said this week that previous mediation efforts through Qatar and Türkiye had failed to produce a breakthrough, with Kabul not providing assurances that armed groups would be prevented from attacking Pakistan.
Turkish and Qatari security delegations held separate meetings with senior Taliban officials in Kabul and Kandahar last week, discussing Kabul-Islamabad tensions, and regional security cooperation, according to Taliban Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani.
The Turkish delegation, led by intelligence chief İbrahim Kalın, subsequently travelled to Islamabad for talks with Pakistani officials.
The United Nations has voiced concern over the continued presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan, with Deputy Special Representative Georgette Gagnon warning the Security Council that risks to the country’s stability were accumulating amid restrictions on women, exclusionary governance, and security concerns.
China’s chargé d’affaires to the UN, Sun Lei, told the Security Council this week that only 30% of Afghanistan’s 2026 humanitarian funding was in place, calling on traditional donors to urgently fill the gap and avoid politicizing humanitarian issues.