Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the country was prepared to confront what he described as a two-front war involving India and the Afghan Taliban, following a suicide attack in Islamabad that left 12 people dead.
Asif said Pakistan was ready and equipped to face challenges on both its eastern border with India and its western border with Afghanistan. He told the television channel Hum News that he viewed the Afghan Taliban as acting as a proxy force for India.
He said Pakistan had defeated India in the first round of conflict and believed it would do so again, adding that the country had no choice but to fight on both fronts.
When asked whether this situation would make Pakistan’s borders more vulnerable referencing a comment by India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, who had said Delhi should engage Pakistan through proxies, Asif responded that Pakistan was indeed facing a two-front threat from India and Afghanistan and reiterated his claim that Afghanistan was acting on India’s behalf.
The minister said Pakistan was ready to face both borders and believed divine support had helped the country previously and would do so again.
He said he supported negotiations with the Taliban and backed dialogue, but argued that talks required sincerity and genuine intent. He said this did not mean Pakistan would accept being pushed to the outskirts of Islamabad and then be asked to negotiate under such circumstances.
After the suicide attack in Islamabad, Asif said hope for successful negotiations with the Taliban was misplaced, given the environment. He said the authorities in Kabul were capable of preventing attacks in Pakistan and argued that bringing the conflict to Islamabad amounted to a message from Kabul, one that he believed Pakistan was capable of answering.
Three rounds of talks between Pakistan and the Taliban have taken place in recent weeks. The first round in Doha resulted in agreement on a temporary ceasefire, while the second and third rounds in Istanbul ended without progress.
Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban of harbouring Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and allowing the group to launch attacks from Afghan territory. The Taliban denies the allegation.
