Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Friday that terrorists would pay a “heavy price,” regardless of “wherever the source of terrorism lies,” adding that the relationship with Kabul would no longer be like it was in the past.
“There will no longer be protest notes or appeals for peace; no delegations will go to Kabul. Wherever the source of terrorism lies, it will have to pay a heavy price,” said the defence minister in a post on X.
Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been heightened after a series of border clashes this past week. A 48-hour ceasefire that was due to expire today has been reportedly extended until talks in Qatar come to an end.
Asif added that Afghanistan was “sitting in India’s lap and plotting conspiracies against Pakistan” and that Islamabad “can no longer afford to have relations with Kabul like in the past”.
“All Afghans on Pakistani soil will have to go back to their homeland,” he wrote. “Now they have their own government [or] caliphate in Kabul. It has been five years since the Islamic revolution … they must live with Pakistan as neighbours.”
In the post, the defence minister elaborated on the visits by Pakistani delegations to Kabul and provided figures for acts of terrorism by groups operating out of Afghanistan and the total number of casualties.
Since the Taliban took power in 2021, Pakistani foreign ministers visited Kabul four times; defence ministers and the ISI chiefs visited twice; the special representative and foreign secretaries carried out five visits each; the national security adviser visited once, and the Joint Coordination Committee had eight meetings in the Afghan capital.
He added that there were 225 border flag meetings, 836 protest notes and 13 demarches.
“From 2021 to date: 3,844 martyred (civilians, military, and law enforcement agencies combined). Terrorist incidents: 10,347,” the defence minister listed.
On the night of October 11, Afghanistan launched an unprovoked attack on Pakistani border posts, triggering a series of skirmishes[1] that carried on until Wednesday, leaving 23 troops martyred and over 200 Taliban fighters dead.
The Pakistan armed forces conducted “precision strikes” in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province and the capital Kabul. A temporary ceasefire[2] was agreed at Afghanistan’s request for 48 hours, which expired at 6pm today.
Later, the temporary ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan was extended[3], a senior diplomatic source confirmed to Dawn.com. Islamabad’s delegation is still in Pakistan and is scheduled to depart for the Qatari capital Doha tomorrow morning, said security sources.
“The temporary ceasefire was extended at the request of the Afghan Taliban government,” the source said. “High-level talks are expected to begin on Saturday.”