Pakistan, Oct. 21 -- Defence Minister Khawaja Asif's warning that any act of aggression from Afghanistan will violate the Doha agreement captured Pakistan's wary optimism. The ceasefire between Islamabad and the Taliban-led Afghan administration offers respite after a year of punishing violence, yet it still remains a fragile pause in a conflict that has tested Pakistan's endurance and the region's stability.

In 2025 alone, Pakistan recorded more than 2,400 fatalities in militant attacks, with incidents rising nearly 50 percent in the last quarter alone. Many of these assaults were launched from Afghan sanctuaries controlled by factions of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. Every single attack has not only targetted soldiers and civilians b...