Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Tuesday that Pakistan had no more hopes from the de facto rules in Afghanistan, calling the Afghan Taliban a “ragtag group”.
“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,” Asif said during during a program in a private TV channel.
The remarks came after a suicide attack on Monday killed three officers and wounded 11 others at the headquarters of the Federal Constabulary in Peshawar.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in terrorism since 2021, the year that the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, and despite Islamabad’s repeated requests, the regime has yet to rein in terrorists using its soil for cross-border terrorism.
More recently, banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Noor Wali Mehsud plotted the Islamabad suicide attack, which killed 12, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed earlier today, while the security forces have also gunned down several terrorists, who were Afghan nationals.
The ties between the neighbours, moreover, have strained further since October, when the two sides engaged in clashes. Taliban forces, along with TTP militants, attacked Pakistani posts, martyring nearly two dozen soldiers, following which Pakistan launched major attacks against Afghanistan.
A ceasefire was eventually reached in Doha with the help of friendly nations, but negotiations ended without a long-term deal after Kabul did not provide a written commitment to take action against militants sought by Islamabad.
Minister Asif, during today’s programme, added that Turkiye, China, Qatar and other friendly countries want peace in the region, noting that its benefits would extend not only to Pakistan but to all nations involved.
“If the terrorism factory ceases to exist and Afghan people are allowed to earn money”, it will benefit everyone, but the Afghan Taliban are the “enemies of the Afghan people”, the minister added.
He also dismissed allegations by the Afghan Taliban accusing Pakistan of carrying out strikes inside Afghanistan and targeting civilians, terming the claims “baseless and non-existent.”
“As a state, we do retaliate when required, but we never target civilians,” Asif said, stressing that Pakistan’s armed forces operate under discipline and a clear code of conduct.
He contrasted Pakistan’s military professionalism with the Taliban’s behaviour, saying, “They are not like our disciplined forces. They are a ragtag group with no code of conduct and no religious linkages.”
Asif said Pakistan had long exercised restraint and hoped for constructive engagement, but those expectations had now diminished.
“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,” he added.
Earlier in the day, Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid accused Pakistan of carrying out strikes in Khost, Kunar and Paktika provinces, which he alleged claimed the lives of 10 people.
Mustaghfir Gurbuz, a spokesman for the governor of Khost, claimed the strikes were carried out by drones and aircraft.
“The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns this violation and reiterates that defending its airspace, territory, and people is its legitimate right, and it will respond appropriately at the right time,” Mujahid said in a separate statement.
However, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry rejected the accusations, noting that Pakistan has not attacked Afghanistan, calling Mujahid’s remarks “baseless”.
Lt Gen Chaudhry said that Pakistan conducts all its attacks openly and never targets civilians, clarifying that the country follows clear principles in its responses. “We are a state and respond only as a state.”
