At present the tension between Islamabad and Kabul is at its peak. According to the Taliban, at least 46 people were killed in a Pakistani air strike on Tuesday night in Paktika province of eastern Afghanistan. Most of these dead are children and women.
The Taliban regime has lodged a strong protest with Islamabad on this issue and warned that Afghanistan’s territorial sovereignty is a red line. However, Islamabad has not yet said anything on the airstrike.
Pakistan and Afghanistan, once considered friends, are standing opposite each other today. How did this friendship turn into enmity:-
The biggest reason for enmity between Islamabad and Kabul is Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP or Pakistani Taliban). The objective of TTP is to overthrow the Government of Pakistan by waging a terrorist campaign against the Pakistani armed forces and the state.
In recent days, Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Afghan government of harboring armed groups, particularly the TTP. Regarding TTP, it claims that it carries out cross-border attacks targeting Pakistani security forces. However, Kabul has been rejecting Islamabad’s claim.
Only last week, TTP fighters claimed responsibility for the killing of at least 16 Pakistani soldiers in South Waziristan. This was one of the deadliest attacks on security personnel in recent times.
According to a media report, in last week’s UN Security Council briefing, Pakistani diplomat Usman Iqbal Jadun said, "With 6,000 fighters, TTP is the largest listed terrorist organization operating in Afghanistan. With safe havens close to our border, this is a direct and daily threat to Pakistan’s security."
The figures show an increase in attacks and deaths, particularly in Pakistan’s restive northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and southwestern Balochistan province. Both these provinces are adjacent to the border of Afghanistan.
According to Pakistan’s Home Ministry, at least 924 people have died in more than 1,500 violent incidents in the first 10 months of this year. Casualties include at least 570 law enforcement personnel and 351 civilians.
According to the report, Islamabad-based research organisation, Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) has reported more than 856 attacks so far in 2024, which is more than the 645 incidents recorded in 2023.
< p style="text-align: justify;">Apart from this, Pakistan has also deported Afghan refugees on a large scale. After expelling around 5,41,000 Afghan refugees in November 2023, Islamabad had said in June that more than 800,000 Afghans would be evacuated from the country in another similar operation. The Pakistan government defended its decision, citing security concerns and a struggling economy.
Pakistan is traditionally considered a supporter of Taliban. It is claimed in many media reports that there is a deep relationship between the two. When the Taliban took power in Kabul for the second time in 2021, Islamabad assumed that good relations between them would resume.
How happy Pakistan was with the Taliban’s victory can be gauged from the fact that Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, the then chief of its intelligence agency ISI, celebrated the victory in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
According to media reports, General Faiz Hameed smilingly told a Western journalist while sipping tea at the five-star Serena Hotel, ‘Please don’t worry – everything will be fine.’ However, it did not happen as Islamabad wanted.
Some experts believe that Taliban has reduced its dependence on Pakistan to a great extent. He is associating with China, Russia, Iran and some Central Asian countries.
Overall, the current situation indicates that the coming days may become more stressful for Pak-Afghan relations.