Border tensions with Pakistan have steadily worsened since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. In question, armed groups, such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad accused of carrying out attacks from Afghan soil. While the Afghan Taliban and the TTP are distinct groups in the two countries, they share a common ideology and rely on the people who live on either side of the notoriously porous border.
The latest incident between the two countries happened on Saturday. The Pakistani army fired rockets against eastern Afghanistan and killed around 50 people, according to new reports released on Sunday by Afghan officials.
Pakistan did not confirm having carried out these attacks, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs contented itself with declaring this Sunday that“one more time, [il] strongly condemns terrorists who operate with impunity from Afghan soil to carry out activities in Pakistan”. Islamabad further requested Kabul “to secure the Pakistan-Afghan border region and to take strong action against individuals involved in terrorist activities in Pakistan”.
Caution
The attack too many for the Pakistanis dates back to Thursday, with seven of its soldiers killed in the district of North Waziristan by “terrorists operating from Afghanistan”, according to the ministry.
The Afghan Taliban, they deny sheltering Pakistani insurgents and denounce the fence that Islamabad erects to secure this long border of more than 2,000 km, known as the Durand line, a name inherited from the colonial era.
Immediately after Saturday’s rocket attacks, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid warned Pakistan. “We are implementing all measures to prevent repetition [de telles attaques] and ask that our sovereignty be respected. The Pakistani side must know that if a war breaks out, it will not be in the interest of either side.” And to lament: “It is cruel and it paves the way for enmity between Afghanistan and Pakistan.”