Pakistan’s action in Afghanistan is based on the right of self-defense: President Zardari

President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday described Pakistan’s recent offensive in Afghanistan as an inherent right to defend its people against terrorism emanating from its borders, while warning that if the bloodshed continues inside Pakistan, those responsible will not remain at arm’s length.

The statement came after Pakistan carried out intelligence-based strikes on seven terrorist camps along the border with Afghanistan following a series of attacks and suicide bombings.

In a statement issued by the presidency, Zardari said Pakistan’s latest actions were rooted in its inherent right to defend its people against terrorism emanating across its borders and followed repeated warnings that were not heeded.

Referring to his February 8 statement, the President recalled that Pakistan had warned the international community that “when terrorist groups are given space, facilitation or impunity beyond national borders, the consequences are borne by innocent civilians worldwide.”

He had also stated that Pakistan takes strong exception to the situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban regime has created conditions similar to or worse than before 9/11.

He called the actions of Kabul’s de facto authorities a deep concern, saying the regime, which is not recognized by the United Nations, continued to allow terrorist elements to operate from Afghan soil in violation of its obligations under the Doha agreement, in which it pledged that Afghan territory would not be used against any country.

President Zardari noted that the latest report by the UN Security Council’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team had strengthened Pakistan’s longstanding position.

The report stated: “A large number of Member States consistently report that ISIL-K, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Al-Qaida, Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement aka Turkistan Islamic Party (ETIM/TIP), Jamaat Ansarullah, Ittihad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan (TTP), Al-Qaeda, Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement aka Turkistan Islamic Party (ETIM/TIP), Jamaat Ansarullah, Ittihad-ul-Mujahideen Pakistan, and others are present in Afghanistan and others are present to use external plans in Afghanistan.”

Noting that this assessment by the United Nations made it clear that the presence and activities of these organizations posed serious threats to neighboring countries, including Pakistan, he said it was regrettable that despite clear warnings and repeated engagement, the Afghan authorities failed to take credible and verifiable measures against these elements.

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The President further said that Pakistan exercised restraint for a long period and limited its response to terrorist hideouts near the border areas. However, he warned that Pakistan is fully aware of where the planners, facilitators and patrons of the violence are based. If the bloodshed continues inside Pakistan, those responsible will not remain out of reach, he maintained.

The President reaffirmed that Pakistan seeks peace, stability and cooperative relations with all its neighbours. He said peace cannot rest on denial, duplicity or inaction against terrorism. The protection of Pakistani lives remains paramount and non-negotiable, he added.

Pakistan has long accused the Afghan Taliban of providing sanctuary to TTP leaders and fighters who regrouped across the border following Pakistan’s military operations in the former tribal areas. While the Taliban have publicly refused to give the group a free hand, Islamabad insists that TTP safe havens in Afghanistan remain intact.

Tensions worsened last year after a series of deadly attacks in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which Pakistan directly linked to militants operating from Afghanistan.

Last August, Afghan officials claimed two drone strikes had hit a man’s house in Shinwar district, Nangarhar province. The Afghan government had summoned Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul to lodge a formal protest against what it claimed were Pakistani military attacks in Nangarhar and Khost provinces.

In November, the Afghan Taliban regime again accused Pakistan of launching airstrikes. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistan had “bombed” Afghanistan’s Khost province and carried out airstrikes in Kunar and Paktika.

In response, Pakistan vehemently rejected Kabul’s claims, insisting that Islamabad was neither conducting covert cross-border operations nor targeting civilians.

That same month, ISPR Director General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry issued a warning that the Afghan regime was a threat not just to Pakistan, but to the entire region and the world, citing the abandonment of US military equipment worth $7.2 billion during the US withdrawal.

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Lt Gen Chaudhry reiterated that the Afghan regime harbored “non-state actors” who posed a threat to various countries in the region, noting that the Taliban had not established an inclusive state and government after 2021. He stressed that Pakistan’s problem was with the Afghan Taliban regime, not the Afghan people.

Most recently, after terror attacks in Balochistan, Naqvi once again blamed India for a coordinated terror campaign in the province. “These were not ordinary terrorists. India is behind these attacks. I can tell you with certainty that India planned these attacks along with these terrorists,” he said.

He added that authorities would pursue all those involved, as well as those directing them behind the scenes. He further stated that India was the “main country” behind terrorism and said that it not only provides financial support to terrorists but also helps them plan and strategize.

In 2023, a UN report also revealed that the TTP had established a new base in KP by mid-2023. The report shed light on close links not only between the TTP and the Afghan Taliban, but also with anti-Pakistani groups and al Qaeda. The report further revealed that some Taliban members had also joined the TTP, perceiving it as a religious obligation to provide support.

Interlocutors reported that TTP members and their families received regular aid packages from the Taliban. Importantly, the UN report noted a significant increase in Afghan nationals in TTP ranks. This supported Pakistan’s position that an increasing number of Afghan nationals were involved in suicide attacks in the country.

Recently, a UN Security Council report said attacks on Pakistan by the TTP from Afghanistan have increased, supporting Islamabad’s long-standing complaints about militant sanctuaries across the border.

The 37th report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team not only supported Islamabad’s position that Afghanistan had become a haven for militants using its territory to launch attacks on Pakistan, but also came at a time when the country is facing a renewed wave of violence.