In a major escalation of rhetoric, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has declared that Islamabad will adopt a “confrontational approach” towards the Afghan Taliban regime, accusing Kabul of harbouring
and supporting Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters. Speaking in a hard-hitting statement carried by Pakistani media, Asif warned that Pakistan “will strike again and again” if attacks originating from Afghan soil continue.
“Pakistan will not tolerate infiltration anymore,” Asif said, vowing to “go deep into Afghanistan to hunt TTP terrorists.” He claimed that repeated intelligence inputs and confessions by captured attackers prove that Afghan soil is being used for terror attacks against Pakistan. “Even Qatari and Turkish mediators have admitted that Afghan soil is being used for terrorism,” he asserted.
The remarks come amid growing tensions along the Durand Line, where Islamabad has faced a surge in cross-border assaults blamed on the TTP. Asif accused Kabul of derailing peace efforts, saying, “Talks were in the right direction, but unfortunately, Kabul derailed negotiations.”
He added that Pakistan has the capability to dismantle the Taliban’s military structure if provoked further. “Pakistan does not need to employ even a fraction of its full arsenal to completely obliterate the Taliban regime and push them back to the caves,” Asif warned.
Calling the Taliban’s approach “reckless and self-destructive,” the Pakistan Defence Minister said the regime was “blindly pushing Afghanistan into yet another conflict.” He further vowed that Pakistan “will not spare traitors and militants,” emphasising that the patience shown by Islamabad over “the Taliban’s treachery and mockery” had run out.
The strong words signal a dangerous turn in Pakistan-Afghanistan relations — and raise fears of an armed confrontation between two neighbouring regimes once bound by ideological proximity.
