Pakistan will continue to attack Afghanistan

Pakistan’s defence minister has told the BBC that Pakistan will continue to carry out strikes in Afghanistan as part of a new military campaign to combat terrorism.

Khawaja Asif said the air strikes were aimed at groups that Pakistan accuses of targeting security forces and civilians.

Previously, senior officials in Pakistan only acknowledged one such attack in the neighboring country in March this year.

The Taliban government in Afghanistan described the airstrikes as a violation of its sovereignty.

“It is true that we have been conducting operations in Afghanistan and we will continue to do so. We will not serve them cakes and pastries. If we are attacked, we will attack back,” Mr Asif told BBC Urdu.

He also dismissed concerns about the legality of the air strikes, saying Pakistan did not inform the Taliban of impending attacks.

“This will remove the element of surprise,” he said. “Why do we have to tell them, ‘Get ready, we are coming’?”

The Taliban said the statement was “irresponsible”, warning Pakistan that cross-border attacks would have “consequences”.

Tensions have been rising between Pakistan and Afghanistan since the Taliban took control of the country in 2021. Pakistan alleges that a Taliban faction, the Pakistani Taliban or TTP, has sanctuaries in Afghanistan.

“Afghanistan remains reluctant to act against the TTP, although we have asked them not to use Afghan territory to attack Pakistan,” Mr. Asif said.

Pakistan recently announced a new military operation, dubbed “Stabilize the Situation” in English, aimed at curbing escalating violence and terrorist attacks. The operation is primarily focused on groups operating within Pakistan.

Critics, and even some government sources, say the new operation was launched after pressure from Beijing, which is concerned about the safety of its 29,000 citizens in Pakistan, including 2,500 who are working on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects, part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Five Chinese engineers were killed when a suicide bomber rammed a vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a hydropower project in northwestern Pakistan in March 2024.

Pakistan’s military had earlier alleged that the attack was planned in neighboring Afghanistan and that the bomber was also an Afghan citizen.

Mr Asif denied that the latest military operations were due to pressure from China. But he said they would address security threats to Chinese projects and nationals in Pakistan.