Islamabad, Pakistan — Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has warned that the nation wouldn’t hesitate to launch assaults on the territory of Afghanistan, its neighbour, amid rising tensions between the 2 over safety considerations.
When requested whether or not Pakistan would think about cross-border assaults to regulate perpetrators, the Asif replied to an interviewer, “If the necessity arises, there may be nothing extra essential than Pakistan’s sovereignty.”
Addressing the legality of potential cross-border assaults, Asif argued that Pakistan should prioritise its personal pursuits. “It’s also a violation of worldwide norms when Afghan soil is used to export terrorism, with these accountable receiving safety and protected havens by the individuals there,” he added.
Within the interview on Thursday, he additionally rejected the prospects of any dialogue with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), often known as the Pakistan Taliban, an armed group accused by Pakistan of launching assaults from throughout the border.
“There isn’t any probability of a dialogue with them. What will we speak about, we have to have a standard floor to talk to them,” Asif stated.
The interview follows Pakistan’s current announcement of a renewed navy operation named Azm-e-Istehkam, geared toward curbing escalating violence since November 2022, when the TTP unilaterally ended a ceasefire.
Based in 2007 and aligned ideologically with the Afghan Taliban, the TTP is an armed group advocating for the reversal of the merger of Pakistan’s northwestern tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and stricter enforcement of their interpretation of Islamic legal guidelines within the area.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused armed teams of launching assaults from Afghanistan, the place it says the ruling Afghan Taliban, in energy since August 2021, gives them with a protected haven. The Taliban denies these allegations.
Relations between the 2 neighbours have deteriorated considerably previously two years, with quite a few border skirmishes which have usually led to closures of border crossings.
In March this yr, Pakistan conducted air strikes inside Afghan territory in retaliation for assaults that resulted within the deaths of seven troopers in Pakistan’s North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The Afghan interim authorities claimed that Pakistan focused extraordinary Afghan houses and condemned what it termed as its neighbour’s reckless actions.
But, at the same time as Asif’s feedback underscored the taut ties between the neighbours, Pakistan has insisted that it isn’t shutting the door on Afghanistan – and is eager to stay engaged in its neighbour’s future.
Pakistan’s Overseas Minister Ishaq Dar stated on June 27 within the Nationwide Meeting that the nation would ship a delegation to attend United Nations-hosted talks with the Afghan Taliban in Qatar’s capital, Doha, on June 30.
Dar, who additionally serves because the nation’s deputy prime minister, added that the overseas workplace is planning a future go to by officers to Kabul.
“Afghanistan stays a prime precedence on our agenda. Make no mistake, Afghanistan has not been ignored by this authorities,” he emphasised.
Nevertheless, Riccardo Valle, a researcher primarily based in Venice with The Khorasan Diary – a non-partisan platform run by journalists – stated that whereas bettering the nation’s safety scenario was needed, the Azm-e-Istehkam operation may have unfavourable penalties for Pakistan’s relations with the Afghan Taliban and should not obtain the objective of lowering violence.
“Pakistan has beforehand performed air strikes, reportedly concentrating on TTP militants’ camps. These actions not solely did not weaken the group but additionally triggered robust propaganda responses from the TTP,” Valle informed Al Jazeera.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in violence over the previous 18 months, with information exhibiting greater than 700 attacks in 2023 alone, leading to practically 1,000 deaths, primarily amongst regulation enforcement personnel.
The federal government has dispatched quite a few delegations to Kabul, together with a high-level go to by Asif and Pakistan’s intelligence chief, Basic Nadeem Anjum, in February 2023, but mutual mistrust between the 2 nations persists.
Valle notes the shut relationship and shared ideology between the TTP and the ruling Afghan Taliban, making it difficult to ascertain a state of affairs the place the Afghan Taliban would crack down on the Pakistan Taliban.
The researcher identified that the announcement of Operation Azm-e-Istehkam had already stoked fierce resistance from residents and political events in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“Right this moment in Afghanistan, there exists a regime sustaining ties with the Pakistani Taliban. By launching this operation, Pakistan dangers fostering additional grievances within the province in the direction of the state, probably aiding the TTP,” he stated.