Uncertainty on bilateral ties: Pakistan warns to invade Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor

Pakistan’s recent air raids inside Afghanistan and an immediate response by the Afghan security forces have injected a new uncertainty to the ties between the two neighboring countries.

Pakistan claimed it had targeted members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan TTP, while the Afghan officials said eight civilians – five women and three children, were killed in the airstrike.

Though the cross-border fighting has stopped since Tuesday, but one of Pakistani official on Thursday warned against invading Afghanistan in case of any other terrorist attack in Pakistan within Afghanistan.

The remark was made by Jan Achakzai, the former information minister of Balochistan of Pakistan and he warned that Pakistan security forces would invade Afghanistan and seize control of the Wakhan Corridor in case of any other terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.

“If another terrorist attack takes place in Pakistan, there will be no other option and the Pakistani forces will quickly enter Afghanistan and directly connect to Central Asia by capturing the Wakhan Corridor,” Achakzai warned in X.

Afghan commander says ready to fight against Pakistan

In response to Achakzai’s remark, Abdul Hamid Khorasani, a controversial commander of the Taliban, said that Afghanistan has defeated world powers like the British Empire, Russian and US, so Pakistan is a small country and is insignificant.

He said that whatever is happening in Pakistan is the internal issue of the country and Islamabad has no right to blame Afghanistan.

However, Achakzai in another tweet said that why did Taliban leaders forget when Pakistan opened its doors and warmly embraced them two decades ago. “They (Taliban leaders) grew up in Pakistan for 20 years, their wealth and business were here. They used to use Pakistani identity cards and carried Pakistani passports in his pocket whenever he traveled. His houses were in Quetta, Peshawar and Karachi. Now they are stabbing Pakistan in the back by supporting terrorists,” he tweeted.

New chapter of violence in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Two explosions this morning had killed and wounded dozens of people in Afghanistan and Pakistan, indicating deterioration of the security situation in both the neighbors.

A suicide bomber exploded his vest in the Kabul Bank branch in Kandahar province in which 20 people were killed and nearly 40 others wounded. Meanwhile, another explosion targeted a Pakistani security forces convoy in Dera Ismail Khan and killed two security forces and wounded many others.

Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and DG ISI Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum meet Afghanistan’s acting Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar on February 22, 2023.

A local provincial source confirmed to Harici that the bodies of 20 people shifted to the local hospital and 47 others with severe and slight injuries were evacuated to the nearby clinics.

The source confirmed that it was a suicide attack occurred at around 09:00am on Thursday morning in the midst of a gathering of Taliban security forces who had gone to the Kabul Bank to collect their salary.

The Taliban have not commented about the nature of the explosion, but said that three people were killed and 12 others wounded in the blast.

Pakistan doesn’t want armed conflict with Afghanistan

Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said his country doesn’t want an armed conflict with Afghanistan, adding that “force is the last resort.”

Though he rejected any armed conflict, but warned to block the corridor it provides to Afghanistan for trade with India. “If Afghanistan treats us like an enemy, then why should we give them a trade corridor?”  Asif said in an interview with VOA, adding that Pakistan has the right to stop facilitating Kabul if it fails to curb anti-Pakistan terrorists operating on Afghan soil.

There has been a surge in terror attacks in Pakistan since the return of Taiban into power in Afghanistan in August 2021.

An input from VOA. The Afghan Taliban initially brokered talks between Pakistan and TTP, but the latter unilaterally ended a cease-fire in November 2022. Since then, Pakistan has seen a dramatic rise in attacks, primarily against military and security personnel in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces bordering Afghanistan.