High-level delegations from Pakistan and Afghanistan commenced talks in Doha, Qatar, on October 16th, 2025, with intelligence chiefs, deputy prime ministers, and defense and foreign ministers present, according to sources familiar with the developments. During this reporting window, the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) released a video featuring its chief, Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, who denied reports of his death and claimed to be in Pakistan's Khyber tribal district, specifically among the Kuki Khel and Qambar Khel tribes. The video, which appears to show him in a mountainous region with Pakistani military posts visible, was released amidst the ongoing Doha discussions and a separate security operation. Separately, an intelligence-based operation (IBO) conducted in Tang Killi, Data Khel, resulted in the neutralization of six individuals identified as "Khawarij," including Commander Mehboob alias Muhammad, with three others injured. This operation targeted "Fitna al Khawarij." The Doha talks, confirmed by a Taliban government source to The Khorasan Diary, are occurring against a backdrop of regional tensions. A source in Qatar indicated that intelligence chiefs, the Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan, and the Defense and Foreign Ministers of Pakistan and Afghanistan were in attendance. This development follows Pakistan's earlier directive on October 16th, 2025, for the immediate evacuation and deportation of refugees from twenty-eight Afghan refugee camps in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The TTP's survival claim also comes after previous reports of Pakistan's Security Forces thwarting an infiltration attempt by the group from Afghanistan into the Momand area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, resulting in the deaths of approximately 45-50 TTP terrorists.
