Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday warned Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government against continued support for militants, saying Pakistan would respond to Kabul the same way it had responded to India.
“There is no difference between Delhi and Kabul,” Asif said while addressing the National Assembly in Islamabad, adding that the “same enemy” was currently sitting on both Pakistan’s eastern and western borders. The defence minister mentioned that the Kabul government had become a “proxy” of India and was unwilling to provide Pakistan with concrete assurances regarding cross-border terrorism.
“Kabul is not giving us any guarantee to stop terrorism,” Asif said, adding that Afghan authorities only made verbal commitments and were not prepared to provide written assurances.
“If they do not stop backing terrorists, then there will be war,” he warned, saying Pakistan had attempted to resolve the issue through dialogue involving Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.
