ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has warned Afghanistan that its recent tensions with Islamabad will cause the country to be totally isolated globally and ultimately result in its “collapse” as bilateral tensions surge again.
Asif was reacting to Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, who accused Pakistan of launching overnight airstrikes in Afghanistan on Tuesday that he said killed 10 civilians. Pakistan’s military spokesperson denied Islamabad had conducted the strikes as Mujahid warned Kabul would retaliate “at the proper time.”
Tensions between the two follow a surge in attacks in Pakistan that Islamabad blames on militants, particularly from the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) group, which it says are based in Afghanistan. Kabul denies the allegations and says Pakistan’s security challenges are its internal problems.
“I think this whole thing will precipitate into something where our regional neighbors, who want peace and they also want the dividends of that peace, they will intervene. It won’t take long,” Asif told a private news channel, Geo News, on Tuesday night.
“Otherwise they [Afghanistan] will be isolated and their total isolation will ultimately result in a collapse.”
