By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Defence minister warned on Tuesday that Pakistan could launch attacks on terrorist sanctuaries inside Afghanistan in response to a wave of deadly assaults that killed at least 12 people and wounded dozens more, escalating tensions along the volatile border and raising the specter of broader regional conflict.
The attacks struck as the capital hosted high-profile international gatherings, including the Inter-Parliamentary Speakers’ Conference and the 6th Margalla Dialogue, while a cricket match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka unfolded in nearby Rawalpindi.
In one incident, a suicide bomber detonated explosives outside the district and sessions court in Islamabad, killing 12 and injuring 36. Elsewhere, 14 security personnel were hurt in a bomb blast in Dera Ismail Khan, and forces neutralised terrorists holed up inside Cadet College Wana in South Waziristan.
Speaking at a private television channel, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif did not rule out retaliatory strikes across the border. When asked if Pakistan would respond to the attacks, which officials have linked to Afghanistan, Asif replied, “God willing,” adding that assaults on terrorist hide-outs there “could not be ruled out” and could definitely happen.
Asif expressed deep skepticism about the Afghan Taliban’s intentions, saying there should be no more illusions that they were sympathisers of Pakistan or sincere in seeking peace. “Let’s not fool ourselves … there were three rounds of talks,” he said. He described the government in Kabul as fragmented, composed of various groups and factions with differing interests and agendas. “Some are linked with India and some have their strings being pulled from elsewhere, so 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 that is being waged in our country through the route of Afghanistan.”
“There should be no misunderstanding about this, it is absolutely clear-cut that the enmity of our neighbour has come out in the open,” he added. Asif noted that Pakistan had sought only one assurance from the Afghan Taliban during negotiations: to prevent terrorism originating from Afghan soil. “All these terrorists have come from there, and their formations have penetrated into Pakistan over many months. They’ve been slowly stationing these groups here for the past year; they’ve sent around 2,500-3,000 people in the past year, and they’re present in various areas.”
He pointed to evidence of Afghan involvement, saying, “Pakistan doesn’t have training camps or their sanctuaries, so they come here and live with someone in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. You cannot ignore another factor: that around 55 percent of terrorists killed were Afghans, not Pakistanis. So how can you deny this reality?”
Addressing reports tying the Wana attackers to Afghanistan, Asif said, “We have the capacity, we can take care of them. But we don’t want to be bogged down in a war and for our attention to be diverted from our economic recovery and other issues. This is a natural wish of ours that we want peace in our country.” But he cautioned, “If they want to disturb our peace, then we will have to respond in kind to them, there should be no doubt about it.”
Asif dismissed the reliability of verbal pledges from Kabul, noting that “no one trusted the word of Kabul’s rulers in the neighbouring country itself.” On border incursions, he said there was no uncertainty about action against terrorists: When groups were spotted crossing, they were pursued in “hot pursuit” into Afghan territory with “physical and aerial retaliation and we will intensify this in the coming period.”
The minister also touched on a recent blast in New Delhi, anticipating Indian accusations against Pakistan. “I won’t be surprised if in the next few hours or tomorrow India blames us for this,” he said. Still, he emphasised restraint: “I want to assure our eastern and western neighbours that Pakistan is not interested in fighting with them. We are passing through a phase where we are consolidating our economic gains, and this is a critical issue for us that we are slowly opening our economic shackles.” “During this period, it would be absolutely crazy for us to go somewhere and start engaging in terrorism. This is not in our interest, whether it is Pahalgam or Kabul or Delhi. This can never happen; logic cannot accept that we do such irresponsible adventures when the situation is in flux.”
Yet, Asif made clear that Pakistan would not tolerate aggression. “I assure India, Afghanistan and the international community that Pakistan will never initiate any adventure or war or support any terrorist activity directly or indirectly, but side-by-side, I will say that we will pay back in the same coin if we are targeted.”
He suggested that India might stage an “adventure” against Pakistan ahead of the second phase of the Bihar elections, calling it a “stark possibility” of such a “drama.” Pakistan, he said, had remained on high alert since the May conflict with India to repel any “adventure or military initiative by India.”
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