Pakistan’s Attack on a Taliban Position Along the Durand Line.
News sources reported that today, Monday, 19 January 2026, Pakistani military forces and Taliban fighters clashed along the Durand Line in the Maruf district of Kandahar Province.
Pakistani media stated that the country’s army launched an attack on a Taliban border post, although no detailed information regarding casualties or damage has been released, and official authorities on both sides have not issued clear statements.
Border tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban have intensified significantly in recent months, prompting several rounds of negotiations mediated by regional countries, including Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, in an effort to ease the situation.
During Doha talks in October 2025, mediated by Qatar and Turkey, the two sides reached a short-term ceasefire agreement.
However, follow-up meetings in Istanbul and Riyadh failed to produce a lasting agreement to fully halt tensions or resolve security disputes, particularly those related to militant group activities.
Recent developments indicate that relations between Kabul and Islamabad have reached a high level of mistrust, driven by Pakistan’s repeated accusations of the Taliban harboring terrorist groups, and the Taliban’s counter-accusations of violations of sovereignty and cross-border aggression.
So far, regional diplomatic efforts have been unable to establish long-term stability along the Durand Line.
