Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Monday stressed that the recently agreed ceasefire with Kabul depends on the Taliban’s ability to prevent militants from launching attacks on Pakistani territory from Afghanistan. The statement comes after Afghanistan’s defense minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob refused to accept the Durand Line as a border between the two countries calling it temporary. Qatar also modified its earlier statement about the ceasefire deleting the word ‘birder’.
“Anything coming from Afghanistan will be a violation of this agreement,” Asif told Reuters in an interview, referring to a ceasefire pact reached in Doha over the weekend. The agreement followed several days of deadly border clashes — the most severe since the Taliban seized control of Kabul in 2021.
“Everything hinges on this one clause,” he added.
The border violence erupted after Islamabad urged Kabul to rein in militants allegedly operating from Afghan safe havens. The clashes involved Pakistani airstrikes along the disputed 2,600-km (1,600-mile) border and ground skirmishes between the former allies.
Asif highlighted that the agreement, signed by Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Qatar, explicitly prohibits cross-border incursions.
“We have a ceasefire agreement as long as there is no violation of the agreement which is already in force,” he said.
The Defence Minister accused the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella for multiple Islamist militant groups, of operating from Afghanistan to target Pakistan “in connivance” with the Taliban.
Kabul, however, has previously denied such allegations, maintaining its stance against accusations of harboring militants.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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