Daijiworld Media Network - Islamabad
Islamabad, Nov 12: Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday issued a stern warning to Kabul, indicating that Islamabad could respond with military strikes following a deadly suicide bombing in Islamabad earlier this week. Speaking to Geo News, Asif accused the Afghan Taliban regime of harbouring terrorists responsible for attacks in Pakistan and said war with Afghanistan “could definitely happen.”
The comments came after a suicide blast in Islamabad on Tuesday killed 12 people and injured 36. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Asif alleged that most terrorists involved in confrontations with Pakistani forces were Afghans. “All these terrorists have come from Afghanistan…Around 55 percent of terrorists killed were Afghans,” he said, claiming that terrorist groups have been infiltrating Pakistan over the past year.
Asif also dismissed Afghanistan’s condemnation of the attack as “political drama” and criticised the Taliban regime for being fractured, with different factions allegedly pursuing external agendas. “Some are linked with India, and some have their strings being pulled from elsewhere. Both of these incidents, I think, are a prelude to a coming aggression that could happen from the Afghan side, actually, it will be Indian aggression being waged in our country through the route of Afghanistan,” he said.
The Pakistani minister further warned India and Afghanistan against any misadventure, adding that Pakistan would respond forcefully: “Pakistan will never initiate any military adventure; however, we will not let any act of aggression go unanswered; we will respond in the same coin.”
In a separate interview circulated online, Asif claimed, “By attacking Islamabad, Afghanistan has increased the temperature of war.” He also posted on X that Pakistan is “in a state of war” and described the Islamabad suicide attack as a wake-up call for the nation, praising the sacrifices of the Pakistan Army in maintaining security along the Afghan-Pakistan border and in Balochistan.
The escalating rhetoric comes amid heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of allowing its territory to be used as a base for anti-Pakistan militants.