Pakistan and Afghanistan's Taliban government remain locked in open armed conflict, with Pakistani airstrikes in late June killing at least 13 people — including 11 children — across the Afghan provinces of Kunar, Khost, and Paktika, according to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid; Pakistan confirmed the strikes but said they targeted militant hideouts. The fighting has persisted despite a mediation round held in Urumqi (the capital of China's Xinjiang region) in early April, after which both sides agreed not to escalate but failed to reach a formal peace agreement, with new strikes resuming within days. At the root of the dispute is Pakistan's demand that the Taliban sever ties with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a militant group that has carried out deadly attacks inside Pakistan, while the Taliban deny any connection to the group — leaving a diplomatic solution elusive and, according to the UN, more than 115,000 Afghans displaced by the cross-border violence so far this year.