Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has warned of an all-out war with Afghanistan if ongoing negotiations between Islamabad and Kabul fail to resolve issues that led to clashes reported earlier this month.
Speaking to journalists in Sialkot, the defence minister said that the country’s armed forces and police were sacrificing their lives to safeguard the nation, and the reason we sleep peacefully is because our protectors remain vigilant.
“Pakistan hosted Afghans for 40 years, and those we are negotiating with in Doha all grew up in Pakistan,” he said in reference to negotiations taking place since after a ceasefire that put cross-border clashes on hold starting last weekend.
The two countries agreed to the ceasefire in Doha after days of border clashes that killed dozens, the worst such violence since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.
Taliban forces, along with India-backed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), had resorted to an unprovoked attack on Pakistan, prompting a strong response from Islamabad. At least 200 Afghan Taliban and affiliated militants were killed in said clashes while 23 Pakistani soldiers embraced martyrdom.
The attacks that came as Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was on an official visit to India, ended with the ceasefire agreed to at the request of Afghan Taliban on the evening of Oct 15.
Ground fighting between the one-time allies and Pakistani airstrikes across their contested 2,600-kilometre frontier were triggered after Islamabad demanded that Kabul control terrorists it says operate from safe havens in Afghanistan.
On Saturday, Asif questioned why, despite all hospitality, Afghanistan was resorting to such behavior towards Pakistan, alleging that the country was acting as a proxy for India against Pakistan.
He further claimed that Afghan refugees had taken over employment and business opportunities during their stay on this side of the border.
Saying Pakistan only had one agenda – to achieve regional peace while living in harmony with its neighbours – Asif noted that no terror incidents had taken place over the past four or five days. He, however, reiterated that if negotiations fail, the country will be in an all-out war with Afghanistan.
It may be noted that the defence minister’s statements come as Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban are set to hold the second round of talks in Türkiye later in the day to discuss the establishment of a concrete and verifiable monitoring mechanism aimed at countering the threat of terrorism.
According to reports, Foreign Office (FO) Spokesperson Tahir Andarabi and Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid have confirmed the meeting, which will take place in Istanbul.
“The second round of talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan will be held in Istanbul, Türkiye. The purpose of this dialogue is to stop terrorism originating from Afghan soil against Pakistan and prevent further loss of Pakistani lives,” read a statement issued by the FO.
Last week, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif also said that the ball was in Afghanistan’s court for a permanent end to cross-border hostilities.
Addressing a federal cabinet meeting on Pak-Afghan border tensions, the premier said that Pakistan remained ready to hold talks with the Taliban regime on reasonable terms, adding that the recent cross-border aggression from Afghan side was at India’s behest.
“Unfortunately, despite all efforts, [Taliban regime in] Afghanistan did not prioritise peace and adopted the path of aggression,” reports quoted the premier as saying during the meeting.
Highlighting the recent spike in terror incidents in the country, he said Pakistan had to launch a full-scale retaliatory action as patience had run out amid Afghan Taliban regime’s inaction over Islamabad’s concerns.