Pakistan’s defence minister on Tuesday defended the last few months’ military strikes inside Afghanistan as legitimate and intelligence-based, rejecting comparisons with Indian attacks in Pakistan-administered Kashmir as tensions with Taliban continue to rise.
Khawaja Asif said the operations were aimed at dismantling bases of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad accuses of carrying out attacks from Afghan territory.
“Pakistan’s actions against documented terrorist camps of foreign TTP fighters along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border are being wrongly compared with India’s illegal actions,” Asif said, according to a statement shared by local media. “This comparison is neither fair nor reasonable.”
Asif said the strikes were carried out on the basis of intelligence and evidence, citing a recent report by the United Nations Security Council, which he said showed militant groups crossing into Pakistan from Afghanistan.
His remarks followed criticism from Fazlur Rehman, leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, who described Pakistan’s recent air strikes on Kabul as dangerous and difficult to justify.
“When you attack Kabul, it is like India attacking Islamabad,” Rehman said, warning that such actions could further destabilise the region.
Since mid-October, Pakistan’s military carried out various air strikes, targeting some areas in Kabul, Kandahar, Khost and Paktika provinces.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban of allowing the TTP to operate from Afghan soil, an allegation the Taliban deny. Taliban officials have said Afghanistan will not be used to threaten any other country.
Earlier, Pakistan’s army chief said around 70% of TTP fighters were Afghan nationals.
A recent UN report said militant groups including al Qaeda, Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), the TTP and the East Turkestan Islamic Movement remain active in Afghanistan. The report said Taliban leaders are divided over the TTP, with some viewing the group as a liability while others continue to support it.
Taliban officials did not respond to requests for comment on Pakistan’s latest statements.
Relations between Pakistan and the Taliban have deteriorated sharply in recent months, marked by failed talks, prolonged border closures and a rise in militant attacks inside Pakistan, according to officials and security analysts.
