{"id":73639,"date":"2024-03-21T08:09:57","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T08:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/pakistan-does-not-want-armed-conflict-with-afghanistan-says-khawaja-asif\/"},"modified":"2024-03-21T08:09:57","modified_gmt":"2024-03-21T08:09:57","slug":"pakistan-does-not-want-armed-conflict-with-afghanistan-says-khawaja-asif","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/pakistan-does-not-want-armed-conflict-with-afghanistan-says-khawaja-asif\/","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan does not want armed conflict with Afghanistan, says Khawaja Asif"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<p>Days after Pakistan struck militant bases in Afghanistan, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that Islamabad does not want an armed conflict with the neighbouring country.<\/p>\n<p>In an <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link--external\" href=\"https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/a\/7535439.html\">interview<\/a> with <em>Voice of America<\/em> published on Wednesday, Asif said, \u201cForce is the last resort. We do not want to have an armed conflict with Afghanistan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On March 18, Pakistan <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1822274\">struck<\/a> Afghanistan\u2019s Khost and Paktika provinces in \u201cintelligence-based anti-terrorist operations\u201d, which Afghan authorities said killed eight people.<\/p>\n<p>The Foreign Office had confirmed the strikes, saying they were aimed at the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, which recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1821887\">targeted<\/a> security forces in North Waziristan, martyring seven soldiers.<\/p>\n<p>The airstrikes were responded to by Afghanistan forces which used heavy weapons, including mortars, to target troops across the border in Kurram and North Waziristan.<\/p>\n<p>Tuesday remained <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1822671\/relative-calm-follows-skirmishes-on-afghan-frontier\">relatively calmer<\/a> as guns on both sides of the boundary remained silent, barring the Angoor Adda border.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--right  media--embed  media--uneven\">\n<p>    <iframe class=\"nk-iframe\" onload=\"setInterval(()=&gt;{try{this.style.height=this.contentWindow.document.body.scrollHeight+'px';}catch{}}, 100)\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"height:400px;position:relative\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/card\/1822641\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Yesterday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1822748\/will-not-tolerate-any-terrorism-from-across-border-pm-shehbaz\">asserted<\/a> that the government would not tolerate any cross-border terrorism. He also invited \u201cneighbouring countries\u201d to \u201ccome and sit together\u201d to devise a plan against terrorism.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking about the Pakistani strike with <em>VOA<\/em>, Asif said: \u201cA message needed to be sent that this [cross-border terrorism] has grown too much.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added that Pakistan wanted to convey to the Afghan interim government in Kabul that \u201cwe cannot continue like this\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Asif warned that Islamabad could block the corridor it provided to Afghanistan for trade with India. The defence minister asserted that Pakistan had the right to stop facilitating Kabul if it failed to curb anti-Pakistan terrorists operating on Afghan soil.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Afghanistan treats us like an enemy, then why should we give them a trade corridor?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n<p>Recalling the February 2023 visit to Kabul by a high-level delegation led by him, Asif said he had told the Taliban ministers to not let banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan\u2019s (TTP) past \u201cfavours\u201d tie Kabul\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they [TTP] have done you a favour and you\u2019re grateful to them, then control them. Don\u2019t let them start a war with us while living in your country, and you become their ally,\u201d <em>VOA<\/em> quoted him as saying.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they can harm us, then we\u2019ll be forced to [retaliate],\u201d the minister said, while expressing hope that Afghanistan would meet the \u201csingle demand\u201d of reining in the TTP, hence preventing the need for future military strikes from Pakistan.<\/p>\n<p>Asif alleged that Kabul was letting the TTP operate against Pakistan in a bid to prevent its members from joining the militant Islamic State group\u2019s local chapter, known as the IS-Khorasan chapter.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>VOA<\/em> report also stated Asif \u201cdismissed the lack of public support from Beijing\u201d on the strikes Pakistan conducted on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not necessary that the world must applaud us. What is in our interest is enough for us. We are protecting our interest, irrespective of whether someone applauds us or not,\u201d the minister said.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"pakistan-bombs-militant-bases-in-afghanistan\" href=\"#pakistan-bombs-militant-bases-in-afghanistan\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>Pakistan bombs militant bases in Afghanistan<\/h2>\n<p>In a pre-dawn operation on Monday, the military targeted the militant outfit \u2014 responsible for the March 16 North Waziristan attack which martyred seven troops \u2014 in an \u201cintelligence-based anti-terrorist operation\u201d. The attack came a day after President Asif Ali Zardari <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1822208\/president-vows-retaliation-as-attacks-continue#:~:text=Zardari%20vows%20retaliation&amp;text=The%20president%20said%20Pakistan%20would,united%20to%20fight%20against%20terrorism.\">vowed<\/a> to avenge the deaths of Pakistani soldiers.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"media  sm:w-1\/2  w-full  media--right  media--embed  media--uneven\">\n<p>    <iframe class=\"nk-iframe\" onload=\"setInterval(()=&gt;{try{this.style.height=this.contentWindow.document.body.scrollHeight+'px';}catch{}}, 100)\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"height:400px;position:relative\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/card\/1822208\" sandbox=\"allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-popups allow-modals allow-forms\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The FO said the operation targeted the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group responsible for several attacks inside Pakistan. \u201cPakistan [\u2026] always prioritised dialogue and cooperation [with Kabul] to confront the terrorist threat. We have repeatedly urged the Afghan authorities to take concrete and effective action to ensure that the Afghan soil is not used as a staging ground for terrorism against Pakistan. We have also called on them to deny safe havens to the TTP and to hand over its leadership to Pakistan.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The statement said \u201ccertain elements among those in power in Afghan\u00adistan\u201d were actively patronising the TTP and using the banned outfit as a proxy against Pakistan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSuch an approach against a brotherly country, which stood with the people of Afghanistan through thick and thin, manifests shortsightedness. It ignores the support extended by Pakistan to the people of Afghanis\u00adtan over the last several decades. We urge these elements in power to rethink the policy of siding with \u2018Khwarij\u2019 terrorists shedding the blood of innocent Pakistanis and to make a clear choice to stand with the people of Pakistan,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n<p>Islamabad said militant groups like the banned TTP posed a \u201ccollective threat to regional peace and security\u201d and Pakistan fully realised the challenge faced by the Afghan authorities in combating the threat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPakistan would therefore continue to work towards finding joint solutions in countering terrorism and to prevent any terrorist organisation from sabotaging bilateral relations with Afghanistan,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n<p>In response to airstrikes, Kabul targeted \u201cbases of Pakistani security forces\u201d across the border, said the Defence Ministry of Afghanistan. The border forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan targeted military bases of Pakistan Army across Durand Line with heavy weapons, the statement claimed.<\/p>\n<p>An army officer embraced martyrdom and three soldiers sustained injuries in day-long cross-border clashes between Pakistan and Afghan Taliban forces along the border in district Kurram, police said.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"resurgent-terrorism\" href=\"#resurgent-terrorism\" class=\"heading-permalink\" aria-hidden=\"true\" title=\"Permalink\"\/>Resurgent terrorism<\/h2>\n<p>Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities in 2023, especially in KP and Balochistan after the TTP <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1723647\">ended its ceasefire<\/a> with the government in November 2022.<\/p>\n<p>The Inter-Services Public Relations, the military\u2019s media wing, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1822274#:~:text=haven%20to%20terrorists%3A-,ISPR,-The%20Inter%2DServices\">said<\/a> earlier this week that the \u201crecent wave of terrorism in Pakistan has the full support and assistance of Afghanistan\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Afghan interim government is not only arming the terrorists but also providing a safe haven for other terrorist organisations as well as being involved in the incidents of terrorism in Pakistan,\u201d it stated.<\/p>\n<p>The Foreign Office also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1822274#:~:text=The%20FO-,statement,-said%20that%20over\">said<\/a> that terror outfits, including the TTP, \u201cpose a grave threat to Pakistan\u2019s security and have consistently used Afghan territory to launch terror attacks inside Pakistani territory\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>On the morning of March 16, seven sec\u00adurity personnel, inc\u00adluding two officers, embraced martyrdom when militants <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1822037\/two-officers-five-troops-martyred-in-blasts-clashes\">targeted a paramilitary camp<\/a> in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan.<\/p>\n<p>The ISPR said earlier this month 10 militants were killed in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1820368\">two separate operations<\/a> by security forces in the North Waziristan district. It added that Pakistan expected the Afghan government to fulfil its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by terrorists.<\/p>\n<p>Last month, a late-night attack on a police station in Dera Ismail Khan was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1815371\/attack-on-dera-police-station-repulsed\">repulsed<\/a>. Gunmen had mounted an attack using heavy weapons but fled in the cover of darkness when police personnel fired back.<\/p>\n<p>In December last year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1797456\">23 soldiers were martyred<\/a> and more than 30 troops wounded after militants belonging to the Tehreek-i-Jihad Pakistan (TJP) stormed a compound used by the military in Dera Ismail Khan\u2019s Daraban area.<\/p>\n<p>According to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawn.com\/news\/1802262\">annual security report<\/a> issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies, Pakistan witnessed 1,524 violence-related fatalities and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations in 2023 \u2014 marking a record six-year high.<\/p>\n<p>KP and Balochistan were the primary centres of violence, accounting for over 90 per cent of all fatalities and 84pc of attacks, including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Days after Pakistan struck militant bases in Afghanistan, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that Islamabad does not want an armed conflict with the neighbouring country. In an interview with Voice of America published on Wednesday, Asif said, \u201cForce is the last resort. We do not want to have an armed conflict with Afghanistan.\u201d On [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.dawn.com\/large\/2024\/03\/211222251f82003.jpg?r=122444","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73639","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73639"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73639\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73639"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73639"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73639"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}