Pakistan has spent the better part of the last few years telling the world that anti-Pakistan militant groups are operating from across the border in Afghanistan. Successive governments, military commanders and diplomats have repeatedly argued that the Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan has found space to regroup on Afghan soil and uses that space to plan and launch attacks inside Pakistan. More often than not, these conacerns were met with polite acknowledgements abroad but little else.
That may now be changing.
In a recent interview, British Special Representative for Afghanistan Richard Lindsay said plainly that the TTP is a terrorist organisation. He also acknowledged that the group receives support from Afghanistan and said that it is for those in authority in Kabul and Kandahar to take decisive action against the problem.
His remarks are noteworthy because they reflect what Pakistani officials have been saying in public and private for years. Islamabad has long maintained that the issue is not simply about militants slipping across a difficult border. The concern has been that Afghan territory is being used as a base where these groups can find shelter, reorganise and return to strike targets inside Pakistan.
During the interview, Lindsay referred to several aspects of the problem. He spoke about the possibility of training camps, financial assistance, weapons coming from Afghanistan and the existence of safe havens for militants escaping Pakistani security operations. He stopped short of discussing the details, but his central point was clear: the authorities in Afghanistan have a responsibility to address these issues.
No state can indefinitely tolerate armed groups using foreign territory to attack its citizens and security forces.
Perhaps the most significant part of the exchange came when he was asked whether Pakistan has the right to act in self-defence against militant threats emanating from across the border. Lindsay’s response left little room for ambiguity. Every country, he said, has the right to defend itself if it faces a clear and credible threat.
Pakistan’s argument has always been rooted in this principle. No state can indefinitely tolerate armed groups using foreign territory to attack its citizens and security forces. Pakistan’s losses in the fight against terrorism have been immense. Thousands of lives have been lost, entire regions have lived under the shadow of violence, and the economic costs have run into billions of dollars.
None of this diminishes the need for engagement between Islamabad and Kabul. Geography dictates that the two neighbours must work together. Military measures can contain a threat, but lasting stability requires cooperation and a shared commitment that neither country’s soil will be used against the other. What makes Lindsay’s comments important is not that they introduce a new debate. Rather, they signal that concerns which Pakistan has been voicing for years are now being heard with greater seriousness internationally. For Kabul, this should serve as a reminder that dismissing these concerns is no longer a sustainable option. The burden now lies on the Afghan authorities to demonstrate, through action rather than assurances, that their territory will not remain a sanctuary for groups threatening Pakistan’s security.
The writer is a freelance columnist.