ISLAMABAD : Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry has stated that recent terrorist incidents inside Pakistan are a direct response to the country’s military actions against militant hideouts located across the border in Afghanistan.
In an interview with a news agency on Wednesday, the Minister asserted that Pakistan’s security forces remain on “high alert” and are fully prepared to thwart any potential threats. “Whenever Pakistan targets terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan, terrorists respond,” he stated, suggesting a clear pattern of retaliation from militant groups operating from Afghan soil.
Chaudhry emphasized that the recent uptick in terrorist activities reinforces Pakistan’s longstanding position that these groups maintain strong links and safe havens in Afghanistan. He detailed that over the past few weeks, security forces have successfully foiled numerous attacks and have apprehended several suspects, including Afghan nationals, during intelligence-based operations. “Dozens of terrorists and their facilitators and assistants have been detained,” he added.
In a separate interview on Geo News’ program ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Saath’, the Minister was more critical of the Afghan Taliban regime, blaming them for the deteriorating bilateral relations. He characterized the Taliban administration as an “irresponsible neighbor” that has yet to transition from its historical “guerrilla mindset.”
“The reason for the deterioration of the Pak-Afghan situation is an irresponsible neighbor. The Afghan Taliban regime has not yet come out of the guerrilla mindset,” Chaudhry said. “As long as their mindset is of guerrilla war, this will be our response.”
The Minister expressed pessimism about an improvement in ties until the Afghan Taliban cease acting as a proxy for other interests. He questioned, “Who is using the terrorist organizations present in Afghanistan?” while asserting that Pakistan’s demands from the Taliban regime are the same as those of the international community. He reiterated that the ideal solution remains resolving the issues through dialogue, but stressed that the situation will not improve until Afghanistan addresses Pakistan’s concerns over cross-border militancy.
