Atlanta/Islamabad, November 1,2026: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Washington has heard Pakistan’s concerns about terrorism emanating from Afghanistan and is willing to play a constructive role in resolving tensions between the two neighbouring countries.
“We obviously have heard those concerns on their part. We obviously don’t want them to be targeted for terrorism. So if there’s a productive role for us to play, we would play it,” Rubio said on Saturday.
Responding to a question about Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions during a press talk in Atlanta, Rubio said Islamabad was concerned about terrorist attacks originating from Afghan territory and believed the Afghan Taliban had failed to do enough to prevent them.
He said the United States had seen some of the attacks cited by Pakistan and opposed terrorism regardless of where it originated or whom it targeted.
Rubio also noted that Washington did not have the closest relationship with the Afghan Taliban.
Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Taliban administration in Kabul to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil, particularly those linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad says are used to launch attacks inside Pakistan.
The Afghan Taliban have rejected Pakistan’s allegations that their territory is being used as a base for attacks, while avoiding a categorical position on the TTP and other militant groups.
On Saturday, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting criticised the Afghan Taliban’s position on the ongoing conflict, accusing Kabul of persistently refusing to address terrorism originating from Afghan territory.
The ministry’s statement came in response to remarks by Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, who blamed Islamabad’s policies for preventing a resolution and rejected the assertion that Afghanistan was responsible for counterterrorism challenges.
Pakistan said the Taliban leadership continued to blame Islamabad while ignoring what it described as the principal obstacle to normal relations: the failure to address terrorism emanating from Afghan soil.
Several rounds of talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan last year, facilitated by Qatar and Türkiye, failed to produce a workable solution. Islamabad said the Taliban officials had provided no assurances on key issues.
China’s involvement in diplomatic efforts this year also failed to yield a breakthrough.
Russia, the only country to have formally recognised the Taliban government, has recently renewed its offer to facilitate a settlement if both sides request its involvement.
Moscow’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, made the proposal last month after the October 5 meeting of the Moscow Format consultations ended without a joint communiqué. The disagreement reportedly centred on references to terrorist networks operating from Afghanistan.
At a weekly media briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said Pakistan’s engagement with Afghanistan could not be unconditional. He rejected suggestions that Islamabad was unwilling to engage with its neighbour and said Pakistan would welcome sincere efforts by friendly countries to help resolve the dispute.
He added that he was not aware of any separate, formal Russian mediation initiative under discussion.
Meanwhile, intermittent clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border have continued.
In September, Pakistan carried out calibrated airstrikes in the border region in response to terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Skirmishes continued in October, with Pakistani security forces responding to what security sources described as unprovoked fire from the Afghan side along the border in Kurram and Angoor Adda in Lower South Waziristan.
