Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman on Tuesday offered to mediate between Pakistan and Afghanistan to ease tensions, days after border clashes increased friction between the two neighbors.
On Sunday, 23 Pakistani soldiers were martyred and 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists were killed in border clashes following an attack from the Afghan side, according to the army’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
He said the clashes began “on the night of October 11-12, 2025, after the Afghan Taliban and Indian-sponsored groups Fitna-al-Khawarij launched an unprovoked attack against Pakistan, along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.” Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term the state uses to refer to terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
“In the past, I played a role in reducing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and now I can do that too,” Fazl told reporters in Islamabad.
The JUI-F chief, the only Pakistani political leader to have met Taliban supreme leader Shaikh Hibatullah, has influence over the Afghan Taliban.
“I have been in contact with the Afghan leadership and they want to resolve the problems through understanding,” the JUI-F chief said.
Fazl said that with a ceasefire in place between Pakistan and Afghanistan, both sides should refrain from blaming each other for the recent hostilities.
“Both countries should try to calm things down instead of provoking each other, including on social media,” he added.
Speaking about Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s visit to India, the JUI-F chief insisted that instead of “making a fuss over Muttaqi’s statement about Kashmir being part of India,” we should also consider our own role in Kashmir.
“How many policies has Pakistan changed regarding Kashmir? Does Pakistan want a solution for Kashmir in the spirit of UN resolutions and what progress has it made in this regard?” -Maulana asked.
He said Afghanistan’s intelligence and other military capabilities were still in their infancy. On Sunday, Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid had said that the Pakistani attacks in Kabul “will have consequences” and that the country had “weapons to respond.”
“Pakistan has a world-class army and capability. Our state should think whether opening a Western Front is somehow the right war strategy at this time,” the JUI chief said.
Increased activity by armed groups inside Pakistan since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021 has remained a common source of tensions between the two neighbors. Pakistan maintains that armed groups, particularly the TTP, operate from Afghan soil, a claim that Afghan officials have denied and maintain that no one can use Afghan soil against any country.
In October last year, the Taliban government had offered assurances to Pakistan that it would not allow terrorist groups to use its soil against Pakistan.
