In Warning To Afghanistan, Khawaja Asif Has Terror Message For Pakistan

Pakistan, which has a track record of sponsoring terror groups on its soil, is reportedly planning to send a delegation to Afghanistan to inform the Taliban government in Kabul that Islamabad will not "tolerate cross-border terrorism anymore." Addressing the National Assembly, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif declared that Islamabad has "run out" of patience over the continued use of Afghan territory by terrorists targeting Pakistan, news outlet Dawn reported.

Asif called for a "unified response" to those who were providing shelter to terrorists, whether inside Pakistan or in Afghanistan, and warned the Taliban government that a failure to rein in terrorism could lead to ‘collateral damage'.

"Enough is enough. Our patience has limits. Those who shelter or facilitate terrorists -- whether in Pakistan or Afghanistan -- will face the consequences," he said, warning Kabul as well as ‘facilitators' of terrorists inside Pakistan, per the Dawn report.

Asif further claimed that when he visited Afghanistan three years ago, the Taliban government had demanded 10 billion Pakistani rupees for relocating Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists from the Pak-Afghan border areas to other parts of the country.

However, they did not guarantee that this financial aid would put an end to terror attacks on Pakistani soil, he added.

Asif's warning came after a series of terrorist attacks in the tribal areas of Pakistan in which several armed forces personnel have been killed over the past few months.

Pakistan's Terror Past

Pakistan has often been accused of backing and funding terrorist organisations to flourish on its soil. These organisations, like LeT (Lashkar-e-Taiba) and JeM (Jaish-e-Mohammed), were later used to orchestrate terrorist attacks in India.

After the operation Sindoor in May, a video clip went viral where Asif himself was heard admitting to Pakistan's terror past. In conversation with Sky News's Yalda Hakim, the minister said, "We have been doing this dirty work for the United States for about three decades... and the West, including Britain... That was a mistake, and we suffered for that, and that is why you are saying this to me. If we had not joined the war against the Soviet Union and later on the war after 9/11, Pakistan's track record was unimpeachable."

Later, former Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto also acknowledged the country's link with terror operatives, saying that Pakistan has a past. In a conversation with Hakim again, Bhutto said, "As far as what the defence minister said, I don't think it is a secret that Pakistan has a past... As a result, we have suffered; Pakistan has suffered. We have gone through wave after wave of extremism. But as a result of what we suffered, we also learnt our lessons. We have gone through internal reforms to address this problem..."

"As far as Pakistan's history is concerned, it is history, and it is not something that we are partaking in today. It is true that it is an unfortunate part of our history," he added.

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