Pakistan’s action in Afghanistan is anchored in the right to self-defense: President Zardari

President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday described Pakistan’s recent strikes in Afghanistan as an inherent right to defend its people against terrorism emanating across its borders, while warning that if the bloodshed continues inside Pakistan, those responsible will not stay out of reach.

The statement comes after Pakistan carried out intelligence-based strikes on seven terror camps along the border with Afghanistan, following a series of attacks and suicide bombings.

In a statement issued by the presidency, Zardari said Pakistan’s recent actions were rooted in its inherent right to defend its people against terrorism emanating across its borders and followed repeated warnings that went unheeded.

Referring to his February 8 statement, the President recalled that Pakistan had warned the international community that “when terrorist groups are given space, facilitation or impunity beyond national borders, the consequences are borne by innocent civilians everywhere.”

He also said that Pakistan strongly opposes the situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban regime has created conditions similar to, or worse than, those before 9/11.

Describing the actions of the de facto authorities in Kabul as a matter of deep concern, he said the regime, which is not recognized by the United Nations, had continued to allow terrorist elements to operate from Afghan soil, in violation of its commitments under the Doha Accord, in which it pledged that Afghan territory would not be used against any country.

President Zardari noted that the most recent report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of the United Nations Security Council had reinforced Pakistan’s long-standing position.

The report stated: “A wide range of Member States consistently report that ISIL-K, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Al-Qaeda, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, also known as the Turkistan Islamic Party (ETIM/TIP), Jamaat Ansarullah, Ittihad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan and others are present in Afghanistan. Some groups have used or continue to use Afghanistan to plan and prepare for attacks. external attacks.

He observed that this UN assessment clearly showed that the presence and activities of these organizations posed serious threats to neighboring countries, including Pakistan, and said it was regrettable that despite clear warnings and repeated engagement, the Afghan authorities had failed to take credible and verifiable action against these elements.

Read also: Lieutenant colonel, sepoy martyred, five terrorists killed in Bannu attack

The President further said that Pakistan had exercised restraint for a considerable period and limited its response to terrorist hideouts located near border areas. However, he warned that Pakistan is fully aware of where the planners, facilitators and promoters of violence are based. If the bloodshed continues in Pakistan, those responsible will not stay out of reach, he said.

The President reiterated that Pakistan seeks peace, stability and cooperative relations with all its neighbors. He said peace cannot be based on denial, duplicity or inaction in the face of terrorism. Protecting the lives of Pakistanis remains paramount and non-negotiable, he added.

Pakistan has long accused the Afghan Taliban of providing sanctuary to TTP leaders and fighters, who regrouped across the border after Pakistani military operations in the former tribal areas. While the Taliban has publicly denied giving the group carte blanche, Islamabad insists that the TTP’s safe havens in Afghanistan remain intact.

Tensions escalated last year after a series of deadly attacks in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which Pakistan directly linked to militants operating from Afghanistan.

In August last year, Afghan officials said two drone strikes hit a man’s house in the Shinwar district of Nangarhar province. The Afghan government has summoned Pakistan’s ambassador to Kabul to formally protest what it claims are Pakistani military strikes in Nangarhar and Khost provinces.

In November, the Afghan Taliban regime again accused Pakistan of launching airstrikes. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistan had “bombarded” Afghanistan’s Khost province and carried out airstrikes in Kunar and Paktika.

In response, Pakistan vehemently rejected Kabul’s allegations, insisting that Islamabad had not carried out covert cross-border operations or targeted civilians.

The same month, ISPR Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry issued a warning that the Afghan regime posed a threat not only to Pakistan but to the entire region and the world, citing the abandonment of $7.2 billion in US military equipment during the US withdrawal.

Read also: Terrorist commander, accomplice killed in an exchange of fire with CTD Bannu

Lt Gen Chaudhry reiterated that the Afghan regime harbored “non-state actors” who posed a threat to various countries in the region, highlighting the Taliban’s failure to establish an inclusive state and government after 2021. He stressed that Pakistan’s problem was with the Afghan Taliban regime and not the Afghan people.

Most recently, after the terrorist attacks in Balochistan, Naqvi once again accused India of a coordinated terrorist campaign in the province. “These were not ordinary terrorists. India is behind these attacks. I can tell you with certainty that India planned these attacks with these terrorists,” he said.

He added that authorities would pursue everyone involved, as well as those who directed them behind the scenes. He further said that India was the “main country” behind terrorism, saying it not only provides financial support to terrorists but also helps them plan and strategize.

In 2023, a UN report also revealed that the TTP had established a new base in KP in mid-2023. The report highlights the close ties not only between the TTP and the Afghan Taliban, but also with anti-Pakistan groups and Al-Qaeda. The report further reveals that some Taliban members have also joined the TTP, seeing it as a religious obligation to provide support.

Interlocutors reported that TTP members and their families regularly received aid from the Taliban. Importantly, the UN report noted a significant increase in the number of Afghan nationals in the ranks of the TTP. This supports Pakistan’s position that an increasing number of Afghan nationals are involved in suicide attacks in the country.

More recently, a UN Security Council report said attacks on Pakistan by the TTP from Afghanistan have increased, endorsing Islamabad’s long-standing complaints about militant sanctuaries across the border.

The 37th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team not only endorsed Islamabad’s position that Afghanistan had become a sanctuary for militants using its territory to launch attacks against Pakistan, but it also came at a time when the country is facing a new wave of violence.