Afghanistan–Pakistan relations

Afghanistan and Pakistan have maintained diplomatic relations since 1948. Following the independence of Dominion of Pakistan through the partition of British India in August 1947, the Kingdom of Afghanistan was the sole country to vote against Pakistan's admission into the United Nations, though withdrew from the negative vote days later in October 1947. However, the Afghan government under King Zahir Shah (r. 1933–1973) began providing support to Pashtun nationalist movements within Pakistan and, in 1952, published a tract laying claim to Pashtun-dominated regions of northwestern and southwestern Pakistan. This prevented normalised ties from emerging between the two states. The internationally-recognized border between the two states, known as the Durand Line, was rejected by Pashtun-led governments in monarchist and later communist Afghanistan. In 1960, the Afghan military under Prime Minister Daoud Khan launched an unsuccessful invasion in Bajaur, Pakistan, in an effort to take some of the Pashtun-majority areas in Pakistan. It was only after Khan's ouster in 1963 when both countries re-established ties.

Pakistan supported the Afghan mujahideen in the Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989) and the First Afghan Civil War (1989–1992). In the course of the Second Afghan Civil War (1992–1996), Pakistan aided the Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin until 1994 when the Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) played a major role in the creation and funding of the Taliban. Pakistan was one of the only three states to recognize the Taliban-led Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001) against the Northern Alliance-led internationally recognized Islamic State of Afghanistan. Following the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001, Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan maintained relatively cool relations; however, cross-border terrorism led to a number of border skirmishes. Pakistan voiced support for the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.

Relations between the Taliban-led Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and Pakistan have been volatile. The Pakistani Taliban (TTP) has been a flashpoint in deterioration of ties. Pakistan has accused the Islamic Emirate government in Afghanistan of having provided a safe haven for TTP terrorists that attack Pakistani territory, while the Islamic Emirate has denied any links between them and the TTP, insisting that it is Pakistan's internal issue. Since 2024, border skirmishes between the two countries have risen to an all-time high, escalating into a direct war in February 2026.