ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has cast doubt over Islamabad’s ceasefire with Afghanistan after heavy cross-border clashes between the neighbors in recent days, accusing Kabul of fighting India’s “proxy war.”
Asif’s remarks came shortly after Pakistan and Afghanistan announced a 48-hour ceasefire on Wednesday after Pakistani forces hit Afghan Taliban strongholds in Kandahar, in what Pakistan state media described as “precision strikes.”
Wednesday’s fighting along the volatile, contested frontier shattered a fragile peace after dozens were killed in weekend clashes, the worst between the two Islamic countries since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.
The recent friction between the former allies erupted after Islamabad demanded the Afghan Taliban administration act to rein in militants who had stepped up attacks in Pakistan, saying they operated from havens in Afghanistan. The Taliban deny the charge and accuse the Pakistani military of spreading misinformation about Afghanistan, provoking border tensions and sheltering Daesh-linked militants to undermine the country’s stability. Pakistan’s military denies the charges.
The Pakistan-Afghanistan skirmishes came at a time of New Delhi’s increasing diplomatic engagement with Kabul, with Afghan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi visiting India where he said that Pakistan should not blame Afghanistan for its internal problems.
