Afghanistan warns Pakistan of 'consequences' for any cross-border incursion
Interim Afghan Defence Ministry criticises Pakistani defence minister's remarks threatening to send troops across the border to target militants, calling them irresponsible and an attempt to "muddy the waters."
![Islamabad accuses Kabul of providing bases for TTP militants who carry out attacks in Pakistan — a charge that Afghanistan denies. / Photo: AFP Archive Islamabad accuses Kabul of providing bases for TTP militants who carry out attacks in Pakistan — a charge that Afghanistan denies. / Photo: AFP Archive](https://images-cdn.trtworld.com/trtworld/w664/h374/q70/20257106_0-126-1500-844.jpeg)
Islamabad accuses Kabul of providing bases for TTP militants who carry out attacks in Pakistan — a charge that Afghanistan denies. / Photo: AFP Archive
Afghanistan has strongly reacted to the Pakistani defence minister's recent statement threatening Kabul with sending troops across the border to target militants, warning Islamabad of "consequences."
"It's necessary for the leadership of Pakistan not to allow anyone to make such sensitive statement on sensitive issues," Khwarizmi said on X, adding that such remarks will not be in the interest of anyone.
"Anyone who violated our border under any pretext will be responsible for the consequences," he warned.
In a recent interview with Voice of America, Pakistan's defence minister accused the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) of carrying out attacks inside the country, claiming that the terrorist organisation's leadership is hiding in Afghanistan and threatening Islamabad with cross-border strikes to eliminate them.
However, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Friday did not defend the defence minister's statement, saying Islamabad respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan.
In recent months, tensions have been escalating between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Islamabad is unhappy about what it claims are terrorist hideouts inside Afghanistan. And from those hideouts, it claims, terrorist attacks are launched in Pakistan pic.twitter.com/89PGGXk711
— TRT World (@trtworld) March 20, 2024
"Pakistan has always said that we respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, and in that context, it is critical that Afghanistan takes effective action against those terrorist groups which are responsible for terror incidents and attacks inside Pakistan," Baloch stressed during a weekly press briefing in Islamabad.
"We have also urged Afghanistan to ensure that any terror hideouts that destabilise the region should be eliminated, and we expect Afghanistan to fulfil the commitments that it has made to the international community and Pakistan specifically," she added.
Islamabad accuses Kabul of providing bases for TTP militants who carry out attacks in Pakistan — a charge that Afghanistan denies.