Defense minister warns Afghanistan of ‘open war’ if Kabul fails to act against terrorists
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif addresses the National Assembly on May 13, 2026. SCREENGRAB
ISLAMABAD:
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif warned Afghanistan on Wednesday that if Kabul failed to stop harboring terrorists, Pakistan would respond in the same way it had against India last year.
Addressing the National Assembly, Asif said: “If they are not ready, then what we did with Delhi, we will do the same with Kabul.” The minister claimed that Afghanistan had effectively become an instrument of Indian politics.
“At this point, Afghanistan has become India’s proxy,” he said, adding, “Kabul is waging a Hindutva war against us,” and that “there is no difference between Delhi and Kabul at present,” though Pakistan sincerely wished otherwise.
Asif said that Pakistan had repeatedly tried to engage Afghanistan through diplomatic channels, including through Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, but these efforts had yielded no results. “In the talks in Qatar, Afghanistan agreed to everything, but later refused to give guarantees,” he said, adding that Kabul was willing to accept verbally but not in writing.
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He said Pakistan’s primary demand was a written commitment from Kabul to ensure that Afghan territory would not be used to launch attacks against Pakistan and that terrorists operating there would be expelled.
“The Kabul government is not willing to guarantee that its territory will not be used for attacks against Pakistan,” he said. “Afghanistan is not willing to expel terrorists from its territory. Afghanistan is also not willing to stop terrorists.”
The minister added that Pakistan remained open to negotiations if Kabul gave written assurances against terrorism.
Referring to a recent attack in Bannu, Asif said many people had been martyred and the Pakistan Army continued to make sacrifices. “We are being forced into war because of this situation,” he said, adding that after India’s defeat last year, New Delhi was now acting through Afghanistan.
On the diplomatic front, Asif said backchannel efforts through a third country were still ongoing, although he declined to provide further details. “Talks are still ongoing through a third country, but I can’t say much at this stage,” he said.
Read more: Khawaja Asif praises armed forces, warns against future aggression
The defense minister also sounded cautiously optimistic about domestic political alignment, saying the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government, which had previously been uncooperative, was now on board.
“Earlier we had not cooperated with the KP government; now we have,” he said. “It is good that we are all on the same page that terrorism must stop.” However, he warned that if Afghanistan remains unwilling to act, the situation could escalate further. “Then it will be a war—an open war,” he said.
Responding to a query by Asad Qaiser on military courts, Asif said the government would soon introduce legislation on the matter. He added that the right to appeal already existed and that several accused persons had challenged the military court’s verdicts. “Many have challenged the jurisdiction of the military courts,” he said.
With regard to the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas, the Minister acknowledged that the promised resources had not yet been made available. “The share due to erstwhile FATA is not only the responsibility of the federation; the provinces must also contribute,” he said. As soon as the provinces agree, he added, the region will get its due rights.
