Islamabad: Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan escalated sharply on Friday as Pakistan’s Defense Minister, Khawaja Asif, issued a stern warning to all Afghans residing in Pakistan, urging them to return to their homeland immediately. In a dramatic address on social media platform X, Asif also declared a de facto end to Islamabad’s diplomatic engagement with Kabul, accusing Afghanistan of acting as a "proxy of India" and conspiring against Pakistan in collaboration with New Delhi and the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Asif’s remarks came just as the 48-hour ceasefire along the volatile Pakistan-Afghanistan border expired at 6 pm local time. Despite the deadline, multiple media reports indicated that the truce had been extended, as officials from both sides were preparing to meet in Doha, Qatar, in an effort to mediate and resolve the escalating conflict. However, Asif’s declaration signaled a hardening of Pakistan’s position, with little hope of immediate reconciliation.
“There will be no more protest notes, no appeals for peace; no delegations will go to Kabul. Wherever the source of terrorism lies, it will have to pay a heavy price,” Asif stated emphatically. He charged that the current Afghan leadership, which he claims is now “sitting in India’s lap,” had once sought shelter on Pakistani soil under Pakistan’s protection. “All Afghans residing on Pakistani land must return to their own country. They now have their own government or caliphate in Kabul. Our land and resources belong to 250 million Pakistanis,” he added.
The Defense Minister portrayed Pakistan as prepared to respond decisively to any aggression from Kabul. He cited Islamabad’s extensive efforts over the past five years to maintain peace, including the issuance of 836 protest notes and 13 demarches to the Afghan government, all of which, he claimed, had gone unanswered. “Self-respecting nations do not thrive on foreign land and resources. Afghanistan must now live with Pakistan as a neighbor, not as a dependent on its territory,” Asif emphasized.
The backdrop to Asif’s warning is a resurgence of border violence. Afghan officials reported that Pakistan had conducted airstrikes inside Afghanistan late on Friday, resulting in at least eight fatalities, including three Afghan cricket players attending a local tournament. In protest, the Afghanistan Cricket Board announced its withdrawal from the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I series against Pakistan. The brief 48-hour truce had temporarily halted nearly a week of intense clashes that claimed dozens of lives on both sides.
In a statement to AFP, a senior Pakistani security official confirmed that the airstrikes targeted the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, a faction of the TTP allegedly responsible for a recent suicide bombing and armed assault on a military camp in North Waziristan, which left seven Pakistani paramilitary personnel dead. The operation was described as a “precision aerial strike” designed to neutralize threats emanating from Afghan border regions.
Khawaja Asif’s remarks and the ongoing military operations underscore a rapidly deteriorating relationship between Islamabad and Kabul. Analysts warn that the conflation of domestic insurgencies with cross-border politics, along with accusations linking India to Afghan strategies, could push the region toward a more prolonged and complex conflict, complicating diplomatic efforts and regional stability.