Asif said Pakistan “will definitely respond” to recent attacks if necessary. “An attack on terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan cannot be ruled out,” he stated, adding that Pakistan is now “compelled to take action” after repeated cross-border incidents.
The statement came amid escalating tensions between Islamabad and Kabul, with Pakistan blaming Afghanistan for harbouring militants of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other extremist groups. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, however, has accused India of being behind the Islamabad suicide bombing, while Asif pointed fingers at Afghanistanrevealing a deep rift within the Pakistani leadership over responsibility for the surge in violence.
Asif claimed that between 2,500 and 3,000 militants entered Pakistan from Afghan territory in the past year and that “55% of the terrorists killed in recent operations were Afghan nationals.” He added that Islamabad no longer trusts the Taliban government’s assurances, saying, “Even their own people do not trust them.”
The latest bombing followed a foiled attack a day earlier, when the Pakistani Army thwarted an assault on a military college in Wana, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Security forces killed two militants and trapped three others inside a building on the campus. Six Pakistani Taliban members were reportedly involved.
Analysts say Asif’s comments signal growing frustration within Islamabad over Afghanistan’s inability or unwillingness to rein in anti-Pakistan militants. Any military response, however, risks deepening hostilities between the two neighbours already locked in diplomatic and security tensions.
2.jpg)
