Pakistan says military operation in Afghanistan will continue

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Friday there was no fixed timeline for ending Pakistan’s military operation in Afghanistan and that there was “no doubt” the campaign would continue until Islamabad achieved its objectives.

He said pressure on the Kabul administration would remain in place as fighting along the frontier persists. Speaking to Geo News, Asif said the operation launched to achieve “specific objectives” had not yet been completed and that it was too early to predict what the long-term outcome would be. His remarks signal that Pakistan is preparing for a sustained confrontation rather than a short border operation.

On mediation efforts, Asif said Qatar and Turkey had tried diplomatically to ease tensions, but argued that their influence could not match that of China. He said Beijing’s leverage stems from both its shared border-related interests and its major economic investments in Afghanistan.

Asif also suggested China could eventually help resolve the crisis because, in his view, authorities in Kabul remain heavily dependent on Chinese financing and political influence. China was among the first countries to step in as a potential mediator, though its efforts so far have failed to produce a lasting breakthrough.

Regional diplomacy has widened in recent weeks as the conflict has intensified, with countries including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey trying to prevent further escalation. Reuters reported on Saturday that Pakistan is also set to host talks involving Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt as part of broader regional diplomacy linked to overlapping security crises.

The latest tensions are rooted in Pakistan’s long-running accusation that Afghanistan soil is being used by anti-Pakistan militants, particularly the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to launch attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul has consistently denied allowing any group to use Afghanistan territory against another country.

Pakistan’s rhetoric has hardened sharply over the past year, with Asif previously warning that failed diplomacy could lead to “open war.” Despite repeated mediation attempts and brief pauses in fighting, neither side has shown a willingness to make the political concessions needed for a durable settlement.

Asif’s remarks suggest Islamabad now sees military pressure, rather than diplomacy alone, as the main path forward. But with mediation stalled and border violence unresolved, the conflict risks becoming an open-ended and deeply destabilising regional confrontation.

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