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‘Tried to remain civil but can't trust them’, says Pakistan's Khawaja Asif amid tensions with Afghanistan
Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif's statement comes after Islamabad's alleged launch of strikes on Afghanistan, killing 10 people.
Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif said on Tuesday that Islamabad had no hopes left from the Taliban regime in Afghanistan amid rising tensions between the two countries.
His statement comes after tensions escalated on Tuesday as Taliban authorities in Afghanistan vowed to "respond appropriately" to a series of overnight border strikes, they blamed Pakistan for, that left 10 people dead, sparking fresh tensions in the wake of a suicide bombing in Peshawar the previous day.
The alleged strikes come at a time when the ceasefire arranged by Qatar and Turkey between the two sides in October was still in place.
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Khawaja Asif on Afghan Taliban
In an interview with Geo News, the country’s defence minister said he had personally welcomed the Taliban after they took control of Kabul and had travelled to Afghanistan several times to help steady relations. But he added, “I don’t think we have gained any dividends, successes, or changes in their behaviour from these visits; there has been no change in their attitude.”
He said, “It will be folly to trust them [Afghan Taliban]. We have tried to remain civil with them…but they’ve not repaid how one should to the soil that’s provided home to two of their generations”.
However, he dismissed all accusations made by the Afghan Taliban that Pakistan had carried out strikes inside Afghanistan and targeted civilians, calling the claims "baseless and non-existent."
"As a state, we do retaliate when required, but we never target civilians," he claimed.
He added, “One should hope for good and not write off another until limits are crossed. But now, we are completely writing them off, and we do not expect anything good from them.”
Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions
Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan escalated on Tuesday after the Taliban said ten people, including children, were killed in a strike, a claim Pakistan quickly denied.
Islamabad attacked several areas in Afghanistan, including Khost, Kunar and Paktika provinces near the border, Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in posts on X, adding that Kabul plans to respond as needed.
A few days earlier, a suicide bombing hit the headquarters of Pakistan’s paramilitary Federal Constabulary in Peshawar, killing three officers and injuring eleven.
President Asif Zardari blamed the “foreign-backed Fitna al Khawarij”, the term Islamabad uses for the Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it says operates from Afghan territory.
