Alia Bloomgarden ’29
Staff Writer
Over the last week and half, Pakistan and Afghanistan engaged in their deadliest clash since the Taliban returned to power. On Oct. 9 a strike hit the Abdul Haq Square in Afghanistan, close to the national intelligence agency. Originally, Taliban government’s Chief Spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, labelled the explosion as an accident. On Oct. 10, Afghanistan's Defence Ministry said that this strike, along with another strike in Pratika, was carried out by Pakistan. Ahmad Sharif, a Pakistani Army spokesman, did not confirm whether Pakistan was responsible for the strike but said at a news conference, “Afghanistan is being used as a base of operations against Pakistan … The necessary measures that should be taken to protect the lives and property of the people of Pakistan will be taken and will continue to be taken.”
In response, on Oct. 12, Afghanistan claimed they killed 58 Pakistani soldiers, captured 25, and wounded 30 in overnight border operations. Pakistan claimed Afghanistan killed 23 soldiers.
The Defence Ministry claimed these attacks were "retaliatory and successful.” Following this attack, Pakistan and Afghanistan engaged in border clashes. Pakistan claimed to kill over two hundred “Taliban and affiliated terrorists,” according to AP News.
Pakistan accused the Taliban of harboring members of the banned group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, who have previously carried out deadly terrorist attacks in Pakistan. Including a particularly devastating attack in 2014. Members of the group entered a military-run school in Peshawar and massacred 141 people.
Afghanistan’s capital Kabul denied Pakistan’s claim. According to the Australian Institute of International Affairs, Afghanistan asserts that Pakistan uses this claim to continue its "violent incursions into Afghan territory.” Pakistan views Tehreek-i-Taliban as an “existential threat” that “reestablished itself in the lawless borderlands after being weakened by Pakistani forces,” according to the institute.
On Oct. 19, Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a ceasefire, which was mediated by Qatar and Turkey. According to Reuters, Qatar’s foreign minister said they will meet on Oct. 25 to “ensure the sustainability of the ceasefire and verify its implementation in a reliable and sustainable manner.” After they agreed to the ceasefire, Khawaja Asif, Pakistan’s minister of defence, stated, “Terrorism from Afghanistan on Pakistan’s soil will be stopped immediately.” Zabiullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban stated, “Neither country will undertake any hostile actions against the other.” Despite the ceasefire, the New York Times asserts that “Pakistan has a resilient Taliban problem, analysts and former diplomats say, and the quagmire remains nearly impossible to resolve without strong measures that neither side has been willing to take so far.” As of Oct. 23, the ceasefire remains in effect.
Sophie Francis ’28 contributed fact-checking.