Pakistan-Afghan peace hinges on Taliban halting incursions, says defence minister Asif

The ceasefire agreement between Islamabad and Kabul is linked to the ruling Taliban's ability to rein in militants attacking Pakistan from Afghanistan, Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told Reuters on Monday.

The South Asian neighbours agreed to a ceasefire in Doha at the weekend after days of border clashes that killed dozens, the worst such violence since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021. Ground fighting between the one-time allies and Pakistani airstrikes across their contested 2,600-km frontier were triggered after Islamabad demanded that Kabul control militants, saying they operated from havens in Afghanistan.

"Anything coming from Afghanistan will be (a) violation of this agreement," Asif said in his office at Pakistan's parliament in Islamabad. "Everything hinges on this one clause."

The Taliban administration and Afghanistan's defence ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In the agreement signed by Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey and Qatar, it was clearly spelled out that there would not be any incursions, the minister said.

"We have a ceasefire agreement as long as there is no violation of the agreement which is already in force."

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, the umbrella of several militant groups, operates out of Afghanistan to attack Pakistan "in connivance" with the Taliban, the minister said.

Kabul has previously denied such accusations.

Reuters