The Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies is organizing a webinar on “The Afghanistan-Pakistan Conflict Amid the War on Iran", on Monday, 22 June 2026, starting from 12:00 PM (Doha Time) via Zoom.
Background
Since 2021, the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan has escalated through recurring border tensions, closure of crossings, population movements, trade disruption, and periodic military confrontation. Recent episodes, including the February 2026 confrontation, show how difficult de-escalation remains.
This conflict is now unfolding in a regional environment reshaped by the US-Israeli war on Iran. The war may alter the pressures facing both countries and, in turn, the dynamics between them, raising questions about how each weighs its choices under shifting regional conditions. As diplomatic attention is drawn toward Iran, it also raises the question of which external actors retain the capacity and interest to mediate between Kabul and Islamabad.
Panellists:
Amina Khan, Director of the Centre for Afghanistan, Middle East & Africa at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad.
Hameed Hakimi, Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, and Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for conflict and Humanitarian Studies.
Objectives:
This webinar aims to achieve three interrelated objectives:
To examine how the war on Iran is affecting Afghanistan and Pakistan, including the pressures facing each.
To assess how these pressures are shaping the conflict between them, and whether they raise the risk of escalation or open space for de-escalation.
To analyse what the war on Iran means for external mediation, including its effect on the capacity and interest of actors that might seek to mediate between them.