Rubio says US would play a 'productive role' as Pakistan-Taliban rift deepens

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that the United States would step in to help ease tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan's Taliban government "if there's a productive role for us to play", as relations between the two neighbours sank further after both sides declared that mediation efforts had broken down.

Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, Rubio was asked about the dispute. "We obviously have heard those concerns on their part. We obviously don't want them to be targeted for terrorism," he said of Pakistan, according to Dawn and Arab News. He added that the US was "against terrorism no matter where it emanates from and who it targets", while noting, as Dawn reported, that Washington does not necessarily have the closest relationship with the Taliban.

What each side says

Rubio's remarks came hours after Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued a sharply worded statement rebutting the Taliban's chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid. "The Taliban regime's persistent refusal to address terrorism remains the principal obstacle to normal relations," the ministry said, according to Arab News. It called terrorism "a red line", said the security of Pakistan's citizens was non-negotiable, and said Pakistan "reserves the right to take all necessary measures, in accordance with international law, to eliminate threats to its national security, wherever they originate".

Mujahid had blamed what he called Islamabad's "wrong policies" for the impasse and denied that Afghanistan was the source of Pakistan's security problems, Dawn reported, citing his post on X. In a video statement to an Afghan outlet, he said the efforts of Kabul and the mediating countries had failed and that Islamabad lacked the readiness to settle disputes peacefully, Arab News reported.

Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesperson, Sajjad Haider Khan, has said talks with Afghanistan "could not be unconditional", and that he was not aware of any separate, formal Russian mediation initiative, Dawn reported.

Background

Islamabad accuses the Taliban of sheltering the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other armed groups that attack its security forces, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan says around 4,700 of its nationals have been killed in such attacks in a little over three years, according to Arab News; Kabul rejects the charge that its territory is used for attacks. The Declaration could not independently verify the figure.

Several rounds of talks facilitated by Qatar and Türkiye in 2025 failed to produce a workable settlement, and efforts involving China this year brought no breakthrough, Dawn reported. Russia has renewed an offer to mediate if both sides ask, but the Moscow Format meeting on 5 October ended without a joint communiqué after disagreement over references to terrorist networks.

The border has remained tense. Pakistan carried out what it called calibrated airstrikes in the border region in September after attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and there were further exchanges of fire in October in Kurram and the Angoor Adda sector, according to Dawn. Arab News reported that Pakistan's cross-border strikes have included targets in Kabul.

Why it matters for India

India has steadily widened its engagement with the Taliban administration, including hosting its foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, in New Delhi in October 2025. Pakistan has in the past accused India of backing militants who attack it from Afghan soil, a charge New Delhi rejects; none of the statements issued this weekend mentioned India. A larger American role in the dispute would add another outside player on India's western flank, at a time when Pakistan is also acting as a mediator in the US-Iran conflict.

What happens next

Rubio did not say what form any US involvement might take, and neither Pakistan nor the Taliban has publicly responded to his offer. With Pakistan describing terrorism as a red line and the Taliban saying mediation has failed, further cross-border strikes remain possible.