PESHAWAR: Residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province voiced strong support for the country’s armed forces, declaring they stand “shoulder to shoulder” with the military amid rising tensions along the Afghan border.
Citizens across the province said they remain resolute alongside Pakistan’s security forces on every front. They warned that the Afghan Taliban should “act responsibly” and avoid escalating tensions with Pakistan.
“Our armed forces know how to defend the country at all costs,” several residents said in public remarks.
Locals praised what they described as a swift and effective military response to recent cross-border incidents. They said Pakistani forces carried out retaliatory strikes, destroyed Afghan Taliban posts and inflicted casualties.
They accused the Afghan Taliban of initiating what they called an unprovoked act of aggression. “After this misadventure, they are now retrieving their dead,” one resident said.
The comments reflect growing public backing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Pakistan’s military posture along the western frontier.
Residents reiterated their support, saying they would continue to stand firmly with the armed forces in defence of the country.
Earlier, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has issued a stark warning to the Afghan Taliban regime, declaring that Pakistan’s patience has expired and that the country is now engaged in “open confrontation” following cross-border aggression.
In a strongly worded statement, the Defence Minister outlined Pakistan’s decades of patience and hospitality toward Afghans, while accusing the Taliban of betraying regional stability by becoming what he described as a “proxy of India.”
“After NATO forces withdrew, it was expected that peace would prevail in Afghanistan and that the Taliban would focus on the interests of the Afghan people and regional stability,” Asif stated. “However, the Taliban turned Afghanistan into a colony of India.”
