ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has issued a sharp reply to the Afghan Taliban, accusing Kabul’s rulers of shifting blame and of a persistent refusal to deal with terrorism coming from Afghan territory. The statement, from Pakistan’s Ministry of Information, was reported by Dawn on Oct. 31 and is the latest sign that ties between the two neighbours, already strained by months of border fighting, are getting worse rather than better.
According to Dawn, the ministry accused the Taliban government of “shifting blame” and of a “persistent refusal” to address terrorism originating from Afghan soil. Islamabad has long said that militants who attack inside Pakistan plan and shelter across the border, and that Kabul has not acted firmly against them. The Taliban government has rejected that charge in the past and has said Pakistan should deal with its own security problems at home. Neither side, in this latest exchange, offered new evidence in public to settle the dispute.
The Pakistani reply followed comments by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. Speaking to Hurriyat Radio, Mujahid said Islamabad’s policies were obstructing the resolution of the conflict and that Pakistan lacked readiness for peaceful dialogue. In other words, each government now publicly blames the other for the failure of talks. That is a marked change from the language of negotiation, and it leaves ordinary people who live along the border exposed to the next round of firing, whenever it comes.
The words rest on a hard recent history. In September, Pakistan carried out what it described as calibrated airstrikes in border areas after terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Clashes then continued into October along the border, in Kurram and at Angoor Adda in Lower South Waziristan, after what Pakistan described as unprovoked firing from the Afghan side. Most recently, on Tuesday, Oct. 27, Afghan security forces shelled border posts and residential areas in Angoor Adda, killing one resident and wounding five members of a single family, according to Dawn’s account of Pakistan’s reporting. Those details come from one side’s account and should be read as such.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the province most affected by this violence, and its own politics are now part of the story. The province was run by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party until the federal government imposed emergency rule there on Oct. 11. Islamabad said the provincial government had disengaged from the fight against terrorism. PTI called the move a coup disguised as an emergency. That dispute is separate from the argument with Kabul, but it shapes who speaks for the province, who commands the response on the ground, and how much trust there is between the province and the federal government at a time of active border tension.
Why it matters goes beyond a war of statements. Trade, travel and the daily lives of border communities all depend on a working relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and each new clash closes crossings, stops goods and pushes families from their homes. A public argument about blame, with no new talks announced, suggests no quick fix is coming. No new schedule for talks was announced by either side in this exchange.
What happens next is simple to watch for, even if it is hard to predict. The first sign of progress would be a new round of talks with a date attached to it. The first sign of further decline would be another border incident, another strike, or another shelling of the kind reported at Angoor Adda this week. For now, Pakistan’s position, as stated by its information ministry, is that the problem begins across the border and must be dealt with there. The Taliban’s position, as stated by its spokesman, is that Pakistan’s own policies are blocking peace. Until one of those positions moves, the border is likely to stay tense. Dawn’s report on the exchange can be read here.
