Pakistan threatens to take its war against militancy across the border

The simmering tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban regime seem to be fast spilling over into an open conflict, with Islamabad threatening to take its war against militancy across the border. The situation has taken a serious turn after reports of alleged Pakistani air strikes on militant sanctuaries inside Afghanistan. 

Afghan media reports, citing official Taliban sources, said Pakistan last week “bombed targets in Salala neighborhood in Nangarhar province.” A Pakistani foreign office spokesperson denied these reports, but the continuing war of words between officials of the two countries highlights the mounting tensions. The alleged air strikes targeting militant sanctuaries in Afghanistan indicate that Pakistani authorities are losing their patience over the Afghan Taliban’s inaction. 

Cross-border operations to take out militant leaders based in Afghanistan have reportedly been undertaken by Pakistan before, when a couple of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leaders died last year in a strike on a militant sanctuary in Kunar province, a region often used by the militants to conduct cross-border attacks. In another incident, the group’s former spokesman Khalid Balti was killed in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar, in what many believed was a covert operation. 

In a strongly worded statement, Pakistan has warned the Taliban regime against the use of Afghan soil by militants to carry out attacks on its security forces. Islamabad has threatened to take its battle against militancy across the border if the Afghan Taliban administration continues to provide sanctuary to the TTP and other outlawed groups involved in unlawful activities in Pakistan. 

The presence of other transnational militant groups in Afghanistan has also been a cause of serious concern for the international community. It’s apparent that the Taliban regime has reneged on its pledge that it would not allow Afghan soil to be used by militant groups for action against other countries. But the regime’s continued linkages with some of the groups have alarmed the world, particularly the regional countries. 

Zahid Hussain 

There has been a tangible toughening in Islamabad’s stance toward the Taliban administration after the latest wave of militant attacks in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, claimed by the outlawed TTP that has been operating out of Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban administration has strongly reacted to Islamabad’s warning, denying that the militants were using Afghan soil for cross-border attacks. 

A statement after the recent sessions of Pakistan’s National Security Committee (NSC) declared: “Pakistan’s security is uncompromisable and the full writ of the state will be maintained on every inch of Pakistan’s territory.” It stated that no country would be allowed to provide sanctuaries and facilitation to “terrorists” and that “Pakistan reserves all rights in that respect to safeguard her people.” 

The NSC, comprising top civilian and military leadership, met this month in the midst of a wave of militancy in the country. The resurgence of violence over the past several months has ended the relative calm witnessed over the last few years. Scores of security personnel have lost their lives in the latest spate of violence claimed by the TTP. 

The strongly worded statement issued after the NSC meeting reflected Islamabad’s growing concern over the resurgence of violence. The country’s top body that determines its national security and foreign policies resolved to take on “any and all entities that resort to violence” and that any violence would be dealt with the “full force of the state.” But the government’s resolve to fight terrorism in all its manifestations is still being tested. 

It is evident that the return of the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan has given a huge impetus to militant groups operating from their sanctuaries across the border. The current wave of militancy has its roots in Afghanistan. The border region has become a safe haven for the TTP and other transnational militant groups. 

Notwithstanding the Afghan Taliban administration’s denial, it is evident that thousands of TTP militants are still being sheltered by the conservative Islamic regime. In fact, militant raids have escalated inside Pakistan’s North Waziristan and South Waziristan districts, since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. 

The presence of other transnational militant groups in Afghanistan has also been a cause of serious concern for the international community. It’s apparent that the Taliban regime has reneged on its pledge that it would not allow Afghan soil to be used by militant groups for action against other countries. But the regime’s continued linkages with some of the groups have alarmed the world, particularly the regional countries. 

In a recent statement, a US State Department spokesman said “Pakistan has a right to defend itself from terrorism.” Indeed, Pakistan needs to act to contain the rising militancy emanating from Afghanistan, but such a situation can widen the conflict. It is also questionable whether such alleged retaliatory raids against the TTP can force the Afghan administration to take action against militant sanctuaries. There is also a danger of Afghanistan turning into a base for international terrorism, threatening its own and regional security. 

- Zahid Hussain is an award-winning journalist and author. He is a former scholar at Woodrow Wilson Centre and a visiting fellow at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge, and at the Stimson Center in DC. He is author of Frontline Pakistan: The struggle with Militant Islam and The Scorpion’s tail: The relentless rise of Islamic militants in Pakistan. Frontline Pakistan was the book of the year (2007) by the WSJ. His latest book ‘No-Win War’ was published this year. Twitter: @hidhussain