Pakistan defense minister warns Afghanistan of ‘total isolation, collapse’ as tensions surge

• Kabul has warned it will retaliate to alleged airstrikes by Pakistan inside Afghanistan this week, which Islamabad denies
• Islamabad blames surge in attacks in Pakistan on militants it alleges are based in Afghanistan, charges Kabul has rejected

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has warned Afghanistan that its recent tensions with Islamabad will cause the country to be totally isolated globally and ultimately result in its “collapse” as bilateral tensions surge again.

Asif was reacting to Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, who accused Pakistan of launching overnight airstrikes in Afghanistan on Tuesday that he said killed 10 civilians. Pakistan’s military spokesperson denied Islamabad had conducted the strikes as Mujahid warned Kabul would retaliate “at the proper time.”

Tensions between the two follow a surge in attacks in Pakistan that Islamabad blames on militants, particularly from the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) group, which it says are based in Afghanistan. Kabul denies the allegations and says Pakistan’s security challenges are its internal problems.

“I think this whole thing will precipitate into something where our regional neighbors, who want peace and they also want the dividends of that peace, they will intervene. It won’t take long,” Asif told a private news channel, Geo News, on Tuesday night.

“Otherwise they [Afghanistan] will be isolated and their total isolation will ultimately result in a collapse.”

Asif said Pakistan had tried to establish peaceful relations with the Afghan Taliban government after they seized power in Kabul in 2021 through repeated meetings with their leadership. However, he said Islamabad had not observed any change in the Afghan Taliban’s attitude neither had Pakistan achieved any success from such meetings.

“They are a ragtag group of opportunists who have fought a war against NATO forces,” the Pakistani defense minister said.

Asif said it would be “no bigger folly” than to trust the Afghan Taliban, reiterating Pakistan’s stance that it had not launched airstrikes in Afghanistan.

PAKISTAN BLAMES AFGHANISTAN FOR KABUL BLAST

Pakistan’s Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday blamed the Afghan Taliban and the TTP for jointly planning a Nov. 11 suicide bombing at an Islamabad district court complex. He said the attack was orchestrated from Afghanistan and involved operatives trained and sheltered there.

Speaking to reporters in Islamabad, Tarar detailed arrests, travel routes and a recorded confession by the alleged handler of this month’s attack on the district court in Islamabad’s G-11 area. He said four men were arrested by Pakistan’s Intelligence Bureau and Counter Terrorism Department within 48 hours of the bombing.

“This is clear evidence, TTA [Afghan Taliban] and TTP did this together,” Tarar said, adding that the suicide bomber and key planners had moved repeatedly between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the months before the attack.

Kabul has not responded to the allegations but had always denied allowing the use of its soil to militants for launching attacks in Pakistan.

Pakistan’s ties with Afghanistan have plummeted since October this year, following deadly border clashes that killed about 70 people on both sides. Though the fighting ended with a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkiye, talks held in Istanbul failed to produce a lasting deal.

Pakistani officials have vowed that Islamabad will go after militants in Afghanistan that launch attacks against it. Kabul has said it will not tolerate such attacks and will retaliate.