Pakistan Taliban War: The Durand Line, the TTP and a Lost Friendship

Pakistan Afghanistan war explained: on 1 October 2026 Pakistani air strikes hit two places in Afghanistan, Pakistan's third round of strikes in ten days. In 1997 Pakistan was one of only three countries to recognise the Taliban. Here is how the old allies ended up fighting. Pakistan says it killed 22 militants. The Taliban government in Kabul says nine people died, women and children among them, and the United Nations counted at least ten civilians killed, most of them children. Earlier this year Pakistan's own defence minister, Khawaja Asif, called it "open war". We show where the two countries sit and who is who (the Afghan Taliban who rule Kabul, and the Pakistani Taliban, the TTP), the Durand Line drawn by British India in 1893 through the Pashtun lands, how Pakistan went from the Taliban's friend to its enemy, a year of fighting from Kabul to Kandahar, this round after the Kohat mosque attack, what the closed border costs traders and families on both sides, and what each side says would end it. What would it take to make this border quiet again? Tell us in the comments. The World Animated: world affairs, explained in animation. Sources for every number are listed below. Chapters 0:00 Intro: strikes on an old friend 0:48 Where, and who: two Talibans 2:23 The Durand Line, 1893 3:27 From allies to enemies 4:53 A year of fighting 6:43 This round: Kohat to Kunar 7:57 The price: trade and refugees 9:04 What would end it 9:52 The question Sources AP via NBC News, Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan kill 10 civilians, UN says (1 Oct 2026): nbcnews.com/world/afghanistan/pakistani-airstrikes-afghanistan-kill-10-civilians-kabul-un-say-rcna601042 Reuters/AAP via Canberra Times, Pakistani strikes kill nine in Afghanistan, Kabul says (1 Oct 2026): canberratimes.com.au/story/9361240/pakistani-strikes-kill-nine-in-afghanistan-kabul-says/ AP via NBC News, Pakistan says it struck 10 sites in Afghanistan (24 Sep 2026): nbcnews.com/world/asia/pakistan-says-struck-10-sites-afghanistan-accusing-kabul-drone-attacks-rcna599568 Express Tribune, strikes on 10 Afghan sites after drone attack (24 Sep 2026): tribune.com.pk/story/2631132 Dawn, Kohat police lines attack (19 Sep 2026): dawn.com/news/2031100 Reuters via Onmanorama, Khawaja Asif: 'open war' (27 Feb 2026): onmanorama.com/news/world/2026/02/27/pakistan-strikes-afghanistan-conflict.html AP via ClickOrlando, Kurram exchange of fire (17 Oct 2026): clickorlando.com/news/world/2026/10/17/pakistani-forces-afghan-taliban-exchange-fire-after-militants-attempt-to-infiltrate-pakistan/ Dawn, Foreign Office: no unconditional talks, 'a verifiable mechanism' (17 Oct 2026): dawn.com/news/2037780 UN Security Council, 16th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team, S/2025/796 (8 Dec 2025) UNAMA, civilian casualties update (6 Mar 2026): unama.unmissions.org/en/node/134369 Arab News, UN: nearly 500 Afghan civilians killed since October (28 Jul 2026): arabnews.pk/pakistan/un-says-nearly-500-afghan-civilians-killed-in-pakistan-afghanistan-clashes-since-october-2652555 CRSS Annual Security Reports 2023 and 2025: crss.pk PICSS, Jan-Sep 2026 militancy figures, via The Nation (2 Oct 2026) Profit (Pakistan Today), Afghan transit trade through Pakistan (20 Jul 2026) and State Bank of Pakistan trade data FY26 (22 Jul 2026): profit.pakistantoday.com.pk Amu TV citing the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment, Karachi and Chabahar routes (8 Dec 2025): amu.tv/214911/ UNHCR Afghanistan data portal (read 21 Oct 2026): data.unhcr.org/en/country/afg Recognition of the first Taliban government, 1997, and the 1947 UN vote: Canadian IRB research response; Wikipedia, 'Durand Line', 'Afghanistan-Pakistan relations' (accessed 21 Oct 2026) Pakistan 2023 census, Pashto speakers: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics via Geo News (17 Nov 2024) Credits Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025-2026. Photo credits (our cartoon portraits are redrawn from these photos): Zabihullah Mujahid: medcom id, CC BY 3.0, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zabihullah_Mujahid.png #Pakistan #Afghanistan #Taliban