Daily Times

The last news cycle saw Kabul unleash a flurry of kneejerk reactions, summoning Pakistani diplomat, deploying heavy weaponry to border areas and launching social media propaganda against Islamabad for daring to execute airstrikes within its territory. Ideally speaking, international law forbids any country from violating the sovereignty of its neighbours but what to do when the said victim continues to support elements determined to see its downfall? There’s a limit to everything.

After giving a considerably long breathing room to the Afghan Taliban to adjust themselves to the new role in Kabul, Pakistan has spent the better part of the last few years making a strong case for cross-border collaboration against terrorist outfits. However, seeing the same shifting glances, feet-dragging and counterproductive finger-wagging over and over again, the security agencies decided to take the matter into their own hands.

For the second time in the ongoing year, Pakistan launched precision airstrikes against a TTP hideout, which supposedly wiped out over 40 terrorists, all the while ensuring the safety of the civilian population. The fact that the Afghan government has directed pointed criticism our way is not only unjust but also embodies a clear sense of hypocrisy.

While the TTP continues to pose a grave threat to both Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Afghan leadership seems more inclined to concoct cock-and-bull tales than to address the genuine concerns emerging from its own territory.

Pakistan’s airstrikes were a necessary response to a series of lethal attacks orchestrated by the TTP within its borders. This group has long been a destabilizing factor, wreaking havoc on innocent civilians and compromising national security.

Just last week, TTP fighters claimed responsibility for killing at least 16 Pakistani soldiers in South Waziristan in one of the deadliest recent attacks on security personnel. 2024 saw more than 856 attacks, resulting in nearly a thousand deaths. Faced with such a palpable threat, Pakistan had an imperative to act decisively to dismantle the TTP’s infrastructure. For meaningful progress, it is critical that the international community chooses to stand on the right side and encourages the Afghan government to prioritise cooperation and mutual respect. Pakistan’s actions against the TTP were not motivated by aggression but rather by a need for self-defence, and therefore, our focus should be on collaborative efforts to counter these threats. At the same time, we must acknowledge our serious failure to develop diplomatic skills to engage in dialogue with the rulers of Afghanistan. *