Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid on 25 September 2026 accused Pakistan of launching military strikes against Afghanistan to deflect domestic political pressure and evade obligations under the Mecca Pact, according to Afghan media reports. Mujahid made the remarks at a religious seminary in Kandahar, warning that Kabul would deliver an 'appropriate response' to what he called Pakistani military 'bullying.'

The Mecca Pact Allegation

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey signed a trilateral defence agreement in Mecca on 7 August, pledging to strengthen collective deterrence against acts of aggression. Under the pact, an armed attack on any one signatory is to be treated as an attack on all three.

Mujahid alleged that Islamabad was deliberately framing its cross-border operations as a state of war with Afghanistan in order to invoke or sidestep the pact's provisions. 'Pakistan's recent attacks on Afghanistan were carried out with the aim of escaping the Mecca agreement with Saudi Arabia, while portraying the situation as though Pakistan is engaged in a war in Afghanistan,' he said, according to reports citing Afghan outlet Ariana News.

Pakistan's Strikes and the Civilian Toll

The remarks followed fresh Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan's Kandahar, Paktia, and Khost provinces on Thursday, which reportedly killed four civilians. These came just days after earlier strikes on Kunar and Paktika provinces on 21 September that killed three people, according to Taliban accounts.

Mujahid, in a post on X, condemned the strikes as 'indiscriminate and cowardly,' describing them as a flagrant violation of all principles and a clear act of 'aggression and crime.' The Taliban has not independently verified civilian casualty figures through third-party sources.

Taliban's Reading of Pakistan's Internal Crisis

Mujahid alleged that Pakistan's military leadership was pursuing a 'false position' that endangered its own people. He claimed that political space inside Pakistan had been curtailed, legally protected freedoms withheld, and the country's economic situation had 'deteriorated substantially.' 'Pakistan, by violating the territory of its neighbouring Islamic country, wants to divert attention from its failures,' he said.

Notably, Pakistan has faced sustained domestic unrest in recent months, including protests, political arrests, and a fragile macroeconomic environment — context that lends the Taliban's narrative a degree of surface plausibility, even as Islamabad has not publicly responded to these specific allegations.

Afghanistan's Warning

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan — the Taliban's formal name for its administration — vowed that 'shameless acts of aggression and attacks by the Pakistani military regime will be met with an appropriate response through a decisive stance.' Mujahid further warned that 'reckless, careless, and hostile actions' would provoke the anger of the Afghan people and carry 'adverse consequences' for Pakistan's military leadership.

With two sets of airstrikes in under a week and Kabul publicly threatening retaliation, the Afghanistan-Pakistan border situation is deteriorating rapidly — and the role of the Mecca Pact's third signatory, Saudi Arabia, in mediating or responding to the dispute remains an open question.