After talks following days of border hostilities between Afghanistan and Pakistan collapsed, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif issued a strongly worded warning to the Taliban rulers in Kabul, telling them that if wished to test Islamabad’s resolve, they should do so “at your own peril and doom”.
“We have borne your treachery and mockery for too long, but no more. Any terrorist attack or any suicide bombing inside Pakistan shall give you the bitter taste of such misadventures. Be rest assured and test our resolve and capabilities, if you wish so, at your own peril and doom,” he posted on X.
The defence minister said that while Pakistan had indulged in talks to give peace a chance on the request of brotherly countries, who were persistently being beseeched by the rulers in Kabul, “venomous statements by certain Afghan officials clearly reflect the devious and splintered mindset of Taliban regime”.
“Let me assure them that Pakistan does not require to employ even a fraction of its full arsenal to completely obliterate the Taliban regime and push them back to the caves for hiding. If they wish so, the repeat of the scenes of their rout at Tora Bora with their tails between the legs would surely be a spectacle to watch for the people of the region.”
Asif further accused the Taliban rulers in Kabul of “blindly pushing Afghanistan into yet another conflict , just to retain its usurped rule and maintain the war economy that sustains them”.
“Despite fully knowing their inherent limitations and hollowness of their war cries, they are beating the war drums to maintain their crumbling facade. If the Afghan Taliban regime is madly hellbent upon ruining Afghanistan and its innocent people once again then so be it,” he said.
In his post, Asif also referred to the phrase “graveyard of empires” used for Afghanistan in connection with the historical instances of several nations failing to conquer the country.
“As far as the narrative of graveyard of empires, Pakistan certainly doesn’t claim it to be an empire but Afghanistan is definitely a graveyard, surely for its own people. Never a graveyard of empires but certainly a playground of empires you have been throughout history,” Asif commented.
He said the “war mongers amongst the Taliban regime, who have vested interests in the continuation of instability in the region, should know that they have probably misread our resolve and courage”.
“If the Taliban regime wants to fight us, the world will Insha Allah (God willing) see that their threats are only performative circus!”
More to follow
