KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Pakistan’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq, held talks with his Chinese counterpart, Yue Xiaoyong, on Thursday to discuss threats posed by terrorist groups based in Afghanistan to both countries.
In a post on X, Sadiq said the discussion focused on groups such as Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), which Islamabad and Beijing view as threats to their respective countries.
He added that both sides agreed on the need for collective efforts to ensure lasting peace and stability in the region.
The meeting comes amid Islamabad’s ongoing regional consultations on security and cross-border militancy. In recent months, Sadiq has held similar discussions with officials from Russia, Uzbekistan, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
Pakistan has experienced a marked increase in militant attacks, particularly in the border provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Security forces, checkpoints, and civilians remain frequent targets of groups, including the TTP and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA). Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of supporting and providing safe havens to TTP and other militant groups, a claim the Taliban denies.
Security tensions have led to repeated cross-border clashes over the past four years. The latest clashes, which began in late February, continue along the border, with the Pakistani military conducting airstrikes in multiple provinces across Afghanistan. The United Nations has reported that these strikes and border clashes have caused dozens of civilian casualties in Afghanistan.
The latest strikes occurred late on Thursday, targeting areas in Kabul, Kandahar, Paktika, and Paktia provinces. According to the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), at least four civilians were killed and 14 others injured in Kabul when residential areas in District 21 were hit.
China has also expressed concern over the presence of militant groups in Afghanistan that threaten its citizens and interests. In January, a suicide bombing at a Chinese-run restaurant in Kabul’s Shahr-i-Naw neighborhood killed one Chinese national and six Afghan civilians, while wounding five other Chinese nationals. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP).
In addition, Chinese nationals have been targeted near the Afghanistan-Tajikistan border in recent months. In December 2025, at least five Chinese contractors working in the border area were killed and five others injured in two separate attacks launched from Afghanistan. Following these incidents, China urged Tajikistan to investigate and advised its citizens to leave the border region.
The Pakistan-China talks underscore shared concerns about regional security and highlight ongoing efforts to coordinate responses to militant threats emanating from Afghanistan under Taliban rule.
