WASHINGTON, D.C. (The Thursday Times) — A senior United States diplomat said on Friday that she had spoken with Pakistan’s foreign secretary to offer condolences for those killed in the latest round of fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban government, and to underscore US support for Islamabad’s claim of self-defence.
Allison M. Hooker, the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, said in a post on X that she had spoken with Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary, Ambassador Amna Baloch, after “the recent conflict between Pakistan and the Taliban,” adding that Washington was “monitor[ing] the situation closely” and “expressed support for Pakistan’s right to defend itself against Taliban attacks.”
The statement came as cross-border clashes intensified into one of the most serious escalations in years between nuclear-armed Pakistan and the Taliban-led administration in Kabul, a conflict rooted in long-running accusations by Pakistan that militants, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), use Afghan territory as a base for attacks inside Pakistan.
Escalation across the border
In reporting on Friday’s developments, international news organisations described Pakistani air and ground strikes hitting targets in multiple Afghan locations, including major cities, after days of retaliatory attacks and border skirmishes.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif, has publicly framed the confrontation as an “open war,” language that underscored the scale of the escalation and the political pressure on the government to respond forcefully to attacks on Pakistani territory and military positions.
A day earlier, Pakistan’s Foreign Office reiterated that it remained committed to peace, but said it would take “all necessary measures” in the exercise of the right to self-defence against attacks “emanating from Afghanistan,” in a sign that Islamabad was preparing both domestic and international audiences for further action.
A volatile backdrop
The fighting has unfolded against a backdrop of recurring Pakistan-Afghanistan border flare-ups and Pakistan’s insistence that Kabul’s Taliban leadership act against groups targeting Pakistan. Recent reporting described efforts at mediation that have struggled to arrest the slide into open confrontation, even as both sides publicly leave the door open to talks.
For Washington, Hooker’s statement signals an attempt to balance two priorities: expressing support for a partner facing attacks, while signalling close monitoring of a conflict that, if it expands, could carry significant regional consequences.∎
