Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Monday that as of today, there are “no ties” between Islamabad and Kabul in the fallout of Afghanistan’s unprovoked attack on the Pak-Afghan border over the weekend.

“It’s a stalemate right now. You can say there are no active hostilities, but the environment is hostile,” Asif said on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada ke Saath’.

“There are no ties, direct or indirect, as of today.”

Asif said hostilities between the two sides can resume “at any time”. “We can not rule that out, but there is certainly a lull in hostilities.

“We cannot lower our guard,” warned the defence minister.

When asked if Islamabad will negotiate with Kabul, Asif replied that if Afghanistan wants negotiations while threatening Pakistan at the same time, “then they should act on their threats and we’ll negotiate after”.

“This is a natural thing. If you are attacked, you instantly have the right to react and target wherever the attack is originating from,” the defence minister explained.

“We did not target populated areas, we did not target civilians, we targeted their hideouts.”

“The world knows that there is a conglomerate of international terrorism in Afghanistan, where ISIS, Al Qaeda and the Taliban are active. They are all under Kabul’s umbrella,” he added.

“Who will believe Muttaqi? The Indians might, but they also know that these people are not controlled by anyone.”

When asked if Tehreek-i-Taliban chief Noor Wali Mehsud was in Afghan territory, Asif replied: “Those we targeted, we targeted in their territory. When I went two-and-a-half, three years ago, they said they would relocate these people. He wasn’t on the moon; he was in Afghanistan.”

“The offer was there. I think there needs to be honesty in diplomacy — it’s not there 100 per cent of the time, but if there is some, it would improve the matter and pave the way to resolution,” he added.

Afghan attacks on border

At least 23 Pakistani troops were martyred and more than 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists were killed in border clashes following an attack from the Afghan side late on Saturday night.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), in a statement, said overnight skirmishes between the two sides, began “on the night of Oct 11/12, 2025, [after] Afghan Taliban and India-sponsored Fitna-al-Khawarij launched an unprovoked attack on Pakistan, along the Pak-Afghan border”.

Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) while Fitna-al-Hindustan is a term designated by the state for terrorist organisations in Balo­chistan.

“During overnight skirmishes, 23 brave sons of Pakistan embraced shahadat (martyrdom) while defending the territorial integrity of our beloved country against this outrageous action, while 29 soldiers [were] injured.“

“According to credible intelligence estimates and damage assessment, more than 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists have been neutralised, while the number of injured is much higher,” the ISPR statement said.

Afghanistan claims it carried out the attack as a “retaliatory” measure, accusing Islamabad of conducting air strikes in its territory earlier this week. For its part, Islamabad has not confirmed whether it was behind the air strikes but maintains that Kabul should “stop harbouring the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan on its soil”.

Providing further details, the ISPR said 21 hostile positions on the Afghan side of the border were also briefly physically captured and multiple terrorist training camps, used to plan and facilitate attacks against Pakistan, were rendered inoperative.

“The infra-structural damages to Taliban posts, camps, headquarters and support networks of terrorists are extensive, all along the border and range from tactical to operational depth.”.

“The armed forces of Pakistan remain ever ready to protect the territorial integrity, life and property of the people of Pakistan. Our resolve to defend Pakistan’s territorial integrity and to defeat those who threaten our security is unwavering.”