Afghanistan-Pakistan relations

“If you are Afghan, you have no rights, and actually, your status does not make much difference.” 

Pakistani officials warn that people who are in the country illegally face arrest and deportation after October 31. The bulk of migrants in Pakistan are Afghan. 

Islamabad wants Kabul to take actual action against the TTP, and is using Afghan refugees as a bargaining chip. 

“We came with such difficulty... We would not leave on our own. If we could survive in Afghanistan then why would we flee?”

It has introduced new measures to punish the Kabul regime for its continued sheltering of the TTP – including moving to repatriate Afghan refugees.

A new joint committee on border movement aims to address the problem of cross-border attacks.

At first, a Taliban victory in Afghanistan was considered synonymous with Pakistan’s victory. But disappointed hopes on both sides now have the neighbors at loggerheads.

If Kabul is able to get the TTP to call off its spring offensive, Islamabad would respond with deals on travel and trade.

The Taliban may not be willing to crack down beyond a point, as that could provide the group's arch-foe, the ISKP, with a propaganda boost.

The closure of the Torkham border crossing after an exchange of fire between the two sides has halted trade.

Pakistan skipped the meeting, while Russia has proposed a new effort to build “regional consensus” – a G-5.

The shelling has come at a time of mounting bilateral tensions over Pakistani border posts and Taliban sheltering anti-Pakistan militants.