Pakistan’s action in Afghanistan rooted in right to self-defence: President Zardari

President Asif Ali Zardari says Pakistan’s recent actions reflect its right to defend its people against cross-border terrorism. Citing the latest UNSC report, he warns that those responsible for bloodshed inside Pakistan will not remain beyond reach.

Referring to his statement from February 8, the president recalled that Pakistan had cautioned the international community that “when terrorist groups are allowed space, facilitation or impunity beyond national borders, the consequences are borne by innocent civilians all over the world.”

He had also stated that Pakistan takes strong exception to the situation in Afghanistan where the Taliban regime has created conditions similar to or worse than pre-9/11.

Calling the actions of Kabul’s de facto authorities a matter of deep concern, he said the regime, which is not recognised by the United Nations, had continued to permit terrorist elements to operate from Afghan soil in violation of its commitments under the Doha Accord, wherein it pledged that Afghan territory would not be used against any country.

President Zardari noted that the most recent report of the United Nations Security Council Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team had reinforced Pakistan’s long-standing position.

The report stated: “A wide range of Member States consistently report that ISIL-K, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Al-Qaida, the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, also known as the Turkistan Islamic Party (ETIM/TIP), Jamaat Ansarullah, Ittihad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, and others are present in Afghanistan. Some groups have used or are continuing to use Afghanistan to plan and prepare external attacks.”

He observed that this assessment by the United Nations made clear that the presence and activities of these organisations posed serious threats to neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, and said it was regrettable that despite clear warnings and repeated engagement, the Afghan authorities failed to take credible and verifiable action against these elements.

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The president further said Pakistan exercised restraint for a considerable period and confined its response to terrorist hideouts located near the border areas. However, he warned that Pakistan is fully aware of where the planners, facilitators and patrons of violence are based. If bloodshed continues inside Pakistan, those responsible will not remain beyond reach, he maintained.

The president reaffirmed that Pakistan seeks peace, stability and cooperative relations with all its neighbours. He said that peace cannot rest on denial, duplicity or inaction against terrorism. The protection of Pakistani lives remains paramount and non-negotiable, he added.

Pakistan has long accused the Afghan Taliban of providing sanctuary to the TTP leaders and fighters, who regrouped across the border after Pakistan's military operations in the former tribal areas. While the Taliban have publicly denied giving the group a free hand, Islamabad insists that the TTP safe havens in Afghanistan remain intact.

Tensions worsened last year after a string of deadly attacks in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which Pakistan directly linked to militants operating from Afghanistan.

In August last year, Afghan officials claimed that two drone strikes had hit the house of a man in Shinwar district, Nangarhar province. The Afghan government had summoned Pakistan’s Ambassador in Kabul to lodge a formal protest against what it had claimed were Pakistani military strikes in Nangarhar and Khost provinces.

In November, the Afghan Taliban regime again accused Pakistan of launching air strikes. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that Pakistan had "bombed" Afghanistan's Khost province and carried out air strikes in Kunar and Paktika.

In response, Pakistan vehemently dismissed Kabul's allegations, insisting that Islamabad neither carried out covert cross-border operations nor targeted civilians.

The same month, ISPR Director-General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry issued a warning that the Afghan regime was a threat not just to Pakistan but to the entire region and the world, citing the abandonment of $7.2 billion worth of American military equipment during the US withdrawal.

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Lt Gen Chaudhry reiterated that the Afghan regime was harbouring “Non-State Actors” who posed a threat to various countries in the region, noting the Taliban’s failure to establish an inclusive state and government post-2021. He stressed that Pakistan's issue was with the Afghan Taliban regime, not the Afghan people.

Most recently, after terrorist attacks in Balochistan, Naqvi once again blamed India for a coordinated terror campaign in the province. “These were not ordinary terrorists. India is behind these attacks. I can tell you for certain that India planned these attacks along with these terrorists,” he said.

He added that authorities would pursue every individual involved, as well as those directing them from behind the scenes. He further stated that India was the “main country” behind terrorism, saying it not only provides financial support to terrorists but also assists them in planning and strategising.

In 2023, a UN report also revealed that the TTP had established a new base in K-P in mid-2023. The report shed light on close ties not only between the TTP and the Afghan Taliban but also with anti-Pakistani groups and al Qaeda. The report further revealed that some Taliban members had also joined the TTP, perceiving it as a religious obligation to provide support.

Interlocutors reported that TTP members and their families received regular aid packages from the Taliban. Importantly, the UN report noted a significant increase in Afghan nationals in the TTP ranks. This supported Pakistan’s stance that a growing number of Afghan nationals were involved in suicide attacks in the country.

More recently, a UNSC report said that attacks on Pakistan by the TTP from Afghanistan have increased, endorsing Islamabad's long-running complaints about militant sanctuaries across the border.

The 37th report by the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team not only endorsed Islamabad's stance that Afghanistan had become a sanctuary for militants who used its territory to launch attacks on Pakistan, but also came at a time when the country is facing a renewed spate of violence.