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03-07-2024
By SJA Jafri + Agencies
ISLAMABAD/ KABUL: Pakistan will continue to launch attacks against Afghanistan as part of a new military operation aimed at countering terrorism, the country’s defence minister has told media.
Khawaja Asif said the aerial strikes were targeting groups which Pakistan accuses of targeting security forces and civilians.
Previously, senior officials in Pakistan had only admitted to one such strike on the neighboring country, in March of this year.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan describes the strikes as violations of its sovereignty.
“It’s correct that we have been carrying out operations in Afghanistan, and we will continue to do so. We won’t serve them with cake and pastries. If attacked, we’ll attack back,” Asif told media.
He also dismissed fears over the legality of the strikes, saying Pakistan does not inform the Taliban of impending attacks.
He said: “This would eliminate the element of surprise. Why should we tell them, ‘get ready, we are coming’?”
The Taliban said the statement was “irresponsible”, warning Pakistan that cross-border attacks would have “consequences”.
Tensions have been rising between Pakistan and Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country in 2021. Pakistan alleges that a faction of the Taliban, the Pakistani Taliban or TTP, has sanctuaries in Afghanistan.
“Afghanistan has been reluctant to take action against the TTP, despite our requests to let them not use Afghan soil to attack Pakistan,” Asif said.
Pakistan has recently announced a renewed military operation, Resolve for Stability” in English, aimed at curbing escalating violence and terrorist attacks. It will mainly focus on groups acting within Pakistan.
Critics, and even some sources within the government, have suggested the new operation was launched following pressure from Beijing, concerned about the safety of its 29,000 citizens in Pakistan, 2,500 of whom are working on China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects, part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Five Chinese engineers were killed when a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a hydropower project in northwest Pakistan in March 2024.
Pakistan’s military previously alleged the attack was planned in neighboring Afghanistan, and that the bomber was also an Afghan national.
Asif denied that the most recent military operations had been due to pressure from China but he said the operations would address security threats to Chinese projects and nationals in Pakistan.
In March, Pakistan has admitted carrying out “intelligence-based anti-terrorist operations” in Afghanistan after the Taliban accused it of killing eight women and children. No exact details were provided on the operation in an official statement.
However, it did say it was in response to a militant attack which left seven Pakistani soldiers dead on Saturday.
The Taliban has denied any link to the militants, adding that the “reckless” strikes had hit “civilian homes”.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the Taliban government, warned Pakistan not to “blame Afghanistan for the lack of control and problems in its own territory” in a statement released on X.
“Such incidents can have very bad consequences which will not be in Pakistan’s control,” he added.
