External mediation is the only effective way to resolve the Pakistan-Afghanistan border conflict

The diplomacy lens matters because this was not only a military pause. It was also a negotiated pause assembled through intermediaries, public statements, and a still-uncertain next phase.

Pakistan resumed airstrikes inside Afghanistan, saying that three targets were struck and 28 militants killed. UNAMA independently confirmed that three civilians — a man, a woman and a girl — were killed. Afghanistan's Taliban government condemned the strikes and threatened an appropriate response, while Pakistan continued accusing Kabul of harbouring groups responsible for attacks inside Pakistan.