Tension between Pakistan and Afghanistan has increased once again. Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday (October 28) accused the Taliban government of Afghanistan of playing into the hands of India and said that if Kabul tried to attack Islamabad, Pakistan would respond with 50 times more force.

Speaking in a Geo News programme, Asif said, “The people running the government in Kabul are dancing like puppets on the tunes of Delhi. India is plotting against Pakistan by making Afghanistan a pawn.” He said that the recent talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Türkiye failed several times due to the withdrawal of the Afghan side. Asif said, “Whenever there was a situation of agreement, Kabul intervened and withdrew it,” Asif said.

Khwaja Asif accused India

Asif alleged that India wants the low intensity war against Pakistan to continue and Afghanistan remains its means. He said, “After the defeat on its western border, India has now adopted the strategy of destabilizing Pakistan through Kabul.” According to sources, the talks mediated by Türkiye and Qatar ended without any concrete result. Pakistan’s main demand was that Afghanistan should take concrete action against terrorist organizations like Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operating in its territory.

What did Pakistan’s Information Minister say?

On this issue, Pakistan’s Information Minister Atta Ullah Tarar also said that in the Istanbul talks, the Afghan side kept deviating from the core issue again and again and kept avoiding taking responsibility. In the last few weeks, many soldiers and civilians have died in border skirmishes, creating a war-like situation between the two countries. Although a temporary ceasefire was reached in Doha brokered by Qatar on 19 October, it could not end the tension permanently.

Khawaja Asif said in a stern tone, “Even if Afghanistan raises its eyes towards Islamabad, we will gouge out its eyes. Afghanistan should understand that Pakistan will not compromise its security at any cost.”

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After several days of violent clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, both sides had agreed to stop the conflict. On Sunday (October 19), the defense ministers of both the countries met in Doha under the mediation of Qatar and Türkiye. After this meeting, Qatar issued a statement saying that both sides have agreed for further talks and cooperation.

Immediately after this good news for Pakistan, Qatar amended the statement, which gave an unexpected blow to Pakistan. In the initial statement, Qatar had mentioned the Durand Line between Afghanistan and Pakistan while discussing the ceasefire. The Durand Line is an imaginary border that was created during the British colonial era and Afghanistan never recognizes it. Due to this, there were protests and widespread reactions regarding this statement in Afghanistan.

Qatar removed mention of Durand Line from its statement

Later, Qatar removed the mention of Durand Line from its statement. This limit is no longer mentioned in the revised statement uploaded on the website of Qatar’s Foreign Ministry. Zalmay Khalilzad, former US Special Envoy to Afghanistan, said on social media platforms that Qatar has changed its earlier statement on the ceasefire between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

What did the Defense Minister of Afghanistan say?

Meanwhile, Afghan Defense Minister Mullah Yakub Mujahid said in an online press conference from Doha that there was no discussion on the Durand Line during the talks. He clarified that there is no mention of Durand Line in the agreement and it is only an internal matter of both the countries. He also said that if Pakistan attacks, Afghanistan will not hesitate to retaliate.

The dispute regarding Durand Line has been going on for a long time. Afghanistan never accepts it, while Pakistan considers it the real international border. Due to this disagreement, violent clashes have taken place several times on the borders of both the countries.

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Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has targeted former Prime Minister Imran Khan. He has written an anti-Afghan post on X (formerly Twitter), in which he has alleged that Imran Khan is bringing thousands of Taliban and settling them in Pakistan. He has blamed the policies of Taliban and Imran Khan for the increasing terrorist incidents in the country. Asif further wrote in his post that even today PTI talks about talks with terrorists. Because of them, the blood of our army and people has been shed for years. He said that despite years of ongoing talks with the Afghan government and delegation visits, violence in Pakistan has not stopped and coffins of soldiers are returning to the country every day.

According to Khawaja Asif, the Pakistan government is paying the expenses of 60 years of hospitality of 60 lakh Afghan refugees with its blood. What kind of guests are these, who shed the blood of their hosts and harbor murderers? Let us tell you that this statement of Asif can further intensify the ongoing debate within Pakistan on the future of Afghan refugees, because in the last few months, the Pakistani government has warned illegal immigrants to leave the country.

Targeting Taliban and PTI

In his statement, Khawaja Asif directly attacked Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). He alleged that the PTI leadership is pursuing pro-Taliban policies, due to which the security situation of Pakistan is continuously deteriorating. Asif said that due to the softness towards Taliban and laxity of border policy during the reign of Imran Khan, terrorist organizations like TTP (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) got strength again. He says that this is the same policy, due to which today both soldiers and civilians of Pakistan are paying the price of terrorism.

Impact on relations with Afghanistan

This statement of Asif has come at a time when relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan are already tense. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Taliban government in Kabul of giving shelter to TTP terrorists carrying out attacks in Pakistan. At the same time, Kabul claims that Pakistan should not hold Afghanistan responsible for its internal problems. This rhetoric may also affect border security and trade relations between the two countries.

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