ISLAMABAD: After talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan collapsed following days of border clashes, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif issued a sharp warning to the Taliban rulers in Kabul, telling them that if they wished to test Islamabad’s resolve, they should do so “at your own peril and doom”.
“We have borne your treachery and mockery for too long, but no more. Any terrorist attack or any suicide bombing inside Pakistan shall give you the bitter taste of such misadventures. Be rest assured and test our resolve and capabilities, if you wish so, at your own peril and doom,” he posted on X.
The minister said Pakistan had engaged in talks to give peace a chance at the request of friendly countries, who had been repeatedly appealed to by the Kabul rulers, but “venomous statements by certain Afghan officials clearly reflect the devious and splintered mindset of Taliban regime”.
“Let me assure them that Pakistan does not require to employ even a fraction of its full arsenal to completely obliterate the Taliban regime and push them back to the caves for hiding. If they wish so, the repeat of the scenes of their rout at Tora Bora with their tails between the legs would surely be a spectacle to watch for the people of the region.”
Asif further accused the Taliban rulers of “blindly pushing Afghanistan into yet another conflict, just to retain its usurped rule and maintain the war economy that sustains them”.
“Despite fully knowing their inherent limitations and hollowness of their war cries, they are beating the war drums to maintain their crumbling facade. If the Afghan Taliban regime is madly hellbent upon ruining Afghanistan and its innocent people once again then so be it,” he said.
Naqvi says issue should be resolved through dialogue
Pakistan and Afghanistan’s interior ministers met on the sidelines of an Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit in Tehran on Wednesday, where the two leaders exchanged handshakes and held brief talks.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi urged that the Pakistan-Afghanistan issue be resolved through dialogue, likening disputes between nations to disagreements within a household that are settled by talking.
The meeting comes after talks in Istanbul between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban regime collapsed. Pakistan has announced operations against terrorists and their sponsors.
