Islamabad

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A few days after Shahbaz Sharif took over the prime ministership of Pakistan, succeeding the government of Imran Khan, the Pakistan-Afghanistan border witnessed new tensions, perhaps the first of its kind in this way, as the Afghan Taliban accused Pakistan of bombing areas inside Afghanistan.

Kabul has accused the Pakistani forces of carrying out air strikes in the provinces of Khost and Kunar in eastern Afghanistan, which killed nearly 47 people, according to the latest official statistics.


Border Attacks

This comes after informed sources in Islamabad said that Pakistan has urged the Taliban more than once to prevent what it described as "terrorist" attacks targeting Pakistani forces in the border areas between the two countries.

A few days ago, Pakistan announced that 7 of its soldiers were killed in an attack in North Waziristan, on the border of Khost province in eastern Afghanistan.

Pakistan says the attacks carried out against Pakistani forces originate from Afghanistan, which the anti-government "Taliban Pakistan" movement in Islamabad accuses of carrying out.

"Pakistan, once again, strongly condemns the terrorists who, while enjoying immunity from Afghan soil, operate to conduct activities in Pakistan," a statement issued by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said.

The spokesman for the Taliban government, Zabihullah Mujahid, issued a strongly worded statement, warning Pakistan of "serious consequences" if the matter was repeated.

The Pakistani bombing came just days after Shahbaz Sharif became prime minister in Islamabad (French)

Pakistan Taliban

According to Pakistani political analyst Rayatullah Farooqi, the main reason for these Pakistani moves is the escalation of attacks launched by the Pakistani Taliban against its forces on the border.

He told Al-Jazeera Net that Pakistan considers the "Pakistan Taliban movement" as an agent of the former Afghan government, and accuses it of obtaining tacit support from some international players in Afghanistan during the so-called "war on terror".

According to Farooqi, since the Taliban seized power last August, Pakistan has been hoping and expecting the Afghan Taliban to take strict measures against the "Pakistan Taliban" and stop its attacks on Pakistan, but under the pretext of confronting the "Islamic State-Khorasan" organization. The Taliban government has not taken any measures, and this is what has been exploited by the "Pakistan Taliban" over the past months.

Farooqi reads, in the coincidence of the Pakistani attacks inside Afghan territory with the political change in Islamabad, that he raises questions about the possibility of this being a new policy for Pakistan to deal with the Afghan file.


Impossible confrontation

For his part, the writer and journalist residing in Kabul, Sibghatullah Saber, believes that the Taliban government's move against the "Taliban of Pakistan" is not practical for several reasons, the first of which is the intellectual, ideological and tribal ties between them, in addition to the strong relations between them in several regions, especially the eastern and southern regions.

Saber added to Al-Jazeera Net that the Taliban movement is not ready and unable to secure the borders in general, as well as prevent attacks against Pakistan, because its military forces are still not strongly mobilized, and they do not have the capabilities to perform this task, in addition to the fact that the Pakistani-Afghan border is very long and difficult Completely control it.

In the opinion of the foreign policy expert, Muhammad Mahdi, the failure of the Taliban government to take any strict measures against the "Pakistan Taliban" angered Islamabad, which prompted it to head towards the Afghan interior and attack and eliminate these terrorist elements, as he put it.

Mahdi also says that Pakistan had told the Taliban, even before the latter came to power in Kabul, that the continuation of attacks on its lands would prompt them to respond decisively, and that they would "chase the terrorists inside Afghan territory."

The Pakistani army accused the "Pakistan Taliban" of carrying out attacks that killed 7 of its soldiers from Afghanistan (Anatolia)

Conflicts and the future of relationships

In the opinion of political analyst Muhammad Mahdi, Pakistan's relations with the Afghan Taliban are deteriorating since the latter came to power. He said that the Taliban had waited for Pakistan to recognize its government immediately, but Pakistan had not yet agreed.

He added, "The issue of terrorism has had a significant impact on relations, and if terrorism issues remain unchanged, these relations will deteriorate negatively."

For his part, the Afghan political analyst, Sibghatullah Saber, reads possibilities for an escalation of tension in Islamabad's relations with Kabul.

"For the first time, the Pakistani Taliban announces spring operations, which is what the Afghan Taliban were doing against US forces and the former Afghan government, and this indicates a high potential for an escalation of attacks," he said.

He added that this imposes on Pakistan two main options:

  • First

    : To confront the "Pakistan Taliban" by taking all necessary measures inside Pakistan and on the borders.

  • The second

    : to carry out operations inside Afghan territory to target the militants of the "Pakistani Taliban", but this will be a major reason for straining relations with the Afghan Taliban.

But Saber believes that the pressures that the Afghan Taliban movement is experiencing in the next stage will make it urgent politically, economically and even socially to stabilize relations with Pakistan, noting that only the refugee file will put pressure on the Taliban government due to the social problems it poses.


Durand Line

The "Durand Line" border area is one of the causes of tension between the two parties, as it has been the subject of a border dispute for decades, as Pakistan sees it as a serious security threat to it.

To reduce the security threats from Afghanistan, Pakistan has worked over the past few years, after the United States announced its intention to withdraw its forces from Afghanistan, to fencing the common border with it, and has completed the fencing of most of them, except for the Durand Line, where those efforts were rejected by the Taliban fighters, which sometimes led to the exchange of Shooting.

In this context, Muhammad Mahdi says that he does not expect any change in policy and positions regarding the Durand Line, as the Taliban government will not accept the line as an international border, and on the other hand, Pakistan insists on considering it as an international border, and will insist on this position, especially in light of the new political change. in the country.