Pakistani officials are concerned about security in neighbouring Afghanistan, particularly about militant fighters from a separate Pakistani Taliban group crossing from Afghanistan and launching lethal attacks on its territory.
In the past few days, a suicide bombing claimed by an Afghan offshoot of ISIS outside Kabul airport killed more than 100 people, including 13 US troops.
A rocket attack on the airport followed, and on Sunday militant gunfire from across the border in Afghanistan killed two Pakistani soldiers.
"The next two to three months are critical," a senior Pakistani official told Reuters, adding that Islamabad feared a rise in militant attacks along the Afghan-Pakistan border, as the Taliban tried to fill a vacuum left by the collapse of Afghan forces and the western-backed administration.
"We (the international community) have to assist the Taliban in reorganising their army in order for them to control their territory," the official said, referring to the threat posed by resurgent rival militant groups, including Islamic State.
US officials have repeatedly accused Pakistan of supporting the Afghan Taliban.
Islamabad, one of the few capitals to recognise the Taliban government that was toppled in 2001, denies the charge.
Pakistan's government has said its influence over the movement has waned, particularly since the Taliban grew in confidence once Washington announced the date for the complete withdrawal of US and other foreign troops.
The official, who has direct knowledge of the country's security decisions, said Pakistan planned to send security and intelligence officials, possibly even the head of the powerful Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, to Kabul to help the Taliban reorganise the Afghan military.
Although recognition of a new Taliban government was not immediately on the table, the official said the world should not abandon Afghanistan.
"Whether we recognise the Taliban government or not, stability in Afghanistan is very important."
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A Taliban fighter stands near a vehicle that was used to fire rockets at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. EPA -
Multiple rockets fired from a car landed near the Kabul airport on Monday. EPA -
People watch remnants of flames after rockets were fired towards Kabul's international airport and intercepted by a missile defence system. Reuters -
People stand by the shell of a vehicle damaged by a rocket attack. AP -
Remnants of flames from cars where rockets were fired towards Kabul's international airport. Reuters -
Taliban fighters stand guard outside the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul. EPA -
Smoke billows at the scene following an explosion near the airport in Kabul. EPA -
A fighter for anti-Taliban forces patrols along a road in Rah-e Tang, Panjshir province. AFP -
Damage caused by the attack near the airport in Kabul. EPA -
An Afghan resistance movement fighter stands guard on a road in Rah-e Tang. AFP -
A US Marine carries a baby as the family is processed through the Evacuation Control Centre at the airport in Kabul. AFP -
Families flown from Kabul, Afghanistan, arrive at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Virginia. AP -
A fighter for the anti-Taliban forces stands guard in Rah-e Tang, Panjshir province. AFP -
Mohammed Jan Sultani's father, Ali, right, looks at his son's Taekwondo championship certificates along with pictures of him in Kabul. Mr Sultani had clutched his national Taekwondo championship certificates as he waded through the multitudes pushing to get into Kabul airport late last week. AP -
Taliban fighters guard a checkpoint on the main street in Kabul. Reuters -
The Taliban's acting Higher Education Minister Abdul Baqi Haqqani gestures while speaking during a consultative meeting on higher education policies at the Loya Jirga Hall in Kabul. AFP -
Militiamen loyal to Ahmad Massoud, son of the late Ahmad Shah Massoud, take part in a training exercise, in Panjshir province, northeastern Afghanistan. AP -
The Panjshir Valley is the last region not under Taliban control following their stunning blitz across Afghanistan. AP -
People flown from Afghanistan walk to board a flight bound for the US, at the Naval Air Station Sigonella, in Italy, on Saturday. AP -
Caskets carrying the remains of soldiers killed at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul are placed on board an aircraft for their return to the US. AP
The official said ISIS-K, a loosely-affiliated offshoot of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, was actively looking to launch attacks and recruit new fighters.
Left unhindered, it would almost certainly grow from relatively small numbers currently.
The US recently launched two drone strikes targeting ISIS-K militants, including one in Kabul and one near the eastern border with Pakistan.
The strikes followed a pledge by President Joe Biden that the US would hunt down the militants behind the recent suicide bombing.
The Taliban criticised the strikes as a "clear attack on Afghan territory".
Pakistan, whose armed forces also possess unmanned drones, as well as conventional aircraft, will avoid intervening directly in Afghanistan if at all possible, the official said.
The Afghan Taliban have reassured their neighbour they will not allow their territory to be used by anyone planning attacks on Pakistan or any other country.
But Islamabad expected the Afghan Taliban to hand over militants planning attacks against Pakistan, the official added, or at least force them from their mutual border, where Pakistani troops have been on high alert in recent weeks.
