Taliban border and tribal affairs minister Noorullah Noori warned Pakistan it could face the same fate as the US and Soviet Union if the conflict continues, amid rising tensions between the two sides.
Speaking on Thursday at a meeting with figures described as experts close to the Taliban, Noori said the barbed wire along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border was “a thorn in our chest”.
He accused Pakistan of pursuing “foreign agendas” and said the Taliban would deal with it as they had with the Soviet Union and the United States. “We taught Russia a lesson, we taught America a lesson, Pakistan should expect the same,” he said.
Noori added that Pakistan’s ambitions reflect “foreign dreams” and would never succeed, claiming its policies are driven by external influence and financial motives.
Taliban officials have accused Pakistan of advancing US-backed plans to destabilise the region, while Islamabad says the Taliban support anti-Pakistan militants and justifies cross-border strikes on that basis.
Referring to the Durand Line, Noori said the fencing imposed by Pakistan is unacceptable.
He also claimed Pakistan is trying to draw NATO into the border issue but said the Taliban would not be influenced by any external actor.
Pakistan has fenced much of its border with Afghanistan over the past two decades, though the barrier has not stopped militant movement across the frontier. Like previous Afghan governments, the Taliban do not recognise the border.
Noori said the Taliban administration represents all Afghans, not a single group, and treats citizens equally.
However, international actors, including Russia, have urged the Taliban to form an inclusive government, noting it remains dominated by one political and ethnic group.
Noori is known as a hardline critic of Pakistan. He was detained after the fall of the Taliban’s first regime in 2001 and held at Guantanamo Bay for 12 years.
Figures such as Noori and Khairullah Khairkhwa have accused Pakistan of betraying them by handing them over to the United States.
Earlier, Noori had warned that if tensions escalate, Taliban forces could advance deep into Pakistan, even towards Punjab, the country’s political and military center.
His remarks come amid escalating border and political tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan. Although the two sides recently held talks in Urumqi under Chinese pressure, no details or outcomes have been disclosed.
Sources say the negotiations ended without a clear result.
