Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif, has warned that the country will take action against Pakistani militants operating inside Afghanistan. He stressed that Pakistan’s security and national interests would take precedence over diplomacy or alliances.
Speaking after a high-level security meeting, Asif stated that Pakistan would not hesitate to track and eliminate its enemies wherever necessary. He insisted that a lenient approach would compromise national security.
On Tuesday, senior security and political officials in Pakistan held an emergency meeting at Parliament House. They discussed growing security threats, particularly attacks by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baloch separatists in Balochistan. Following the meeting, Asif told Geo News that Pakistan was prepared to act against its enemies wherever they may be.
He accused the Afghan Taliban of failing to prevent TTP from using Afghan territory to launch attacks against Pakistan. He claimed that Taliban officials in Kabul and other centres of power were preoccupied with internal disputes, leaving Pakistan with no choice but to act independently.
Asif made it clear that Pakistan would not tolerate the presence of militant groups in Afghanistan. He stated that anyone arguing against pursuing these groups was acting against Pakistan’s national interests.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeatedly criticised the Pakistani government’s confrontational stance towards the Afghan Taliban. He recently argued that Afghanistan is not Pakistan’s enemy and should not be treated as such.
During Khan’s tenure, the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan, with his government playing a significant role in facilitating their return. However, tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban have since escalated, particularly over Islamabad’s accusations that Afghan soil is being used to shelter anti-Pakistan militants.
