Khawaja Asif's "War" Threat To Kabul After Pak Taliban Claims Islamabad Attack

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has warned Kabul of "war" following recent terrorist attacks in Islamabad. Accusing the Afghan Taliban regime of harbouring terrorists responsible for violence in Pakistan, Asif threatened that Islamabad was "compelled" to carry out strikes on Afghanistan.

Asif's statement came after 12 people were killed and 36 were injured in a suicide blast in Islamabad on Tuesday.  The Pakistani Taliban (TTP) has claimed the suicide bombing.

Speaking in an interview with Geo News, the Pakistani minister said attacks on "terrorist sanctuaries" in Afghanistan "could not be ruled out" and war with Kabul "could definitely happen" after Tuesday's attack. 

Asif also dismissed Afghanistan's condemnation of the terror attack as "political drama", claiming that most of the terrorists that were killed during confrontations with Pakistani forces have been Afghans. He said that Pakistan was "compelled" to act after Tuesday's attacks.

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has threatened that Pakistan “can launch an attack on Afghanistan anytime,” directly accusing Kabul and India of aiding recent terror strikes in Islamabad and Wana.

In the interview, Asif dismissed Afghanistan's condemnation of the… pic.twitter.com/12SCddqFla

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"All these terrorists have come from there (Afghanistan), and their formations have penetrated into Pakistan over many months. They've been slowly stationing these groups here for the past year; they've sent around 2,500-3,000 people in the past year, and they're present in various areas... Around 55 per cent of terrorists killed were Afghans," he said.

Asif further alleged there was no "united government" in Kabul and claimed the Taliban regime was composed of various groups and factions with different interests and agendas.

"Some are linked with India, and some have their strings being pulled from elsewhere, so both of these incidents, I think, are a prelude to a coming aggression that could happen from the Afghan side, actually, it will be Indian aggression that is being waged in our country through the route of Afghanistan," he said.

He warned India and Afghanistan against any misadventure, saying Pakistan would “pay back in the same coin.”

“Pakistan will never initiate any military adventure; however, we will not let any act of aggression go unanswered; we will respond forcefully," he said.

In his earlier interviews, Asif, without any evidence, has claimed that Kabul was fighting "India's proxy war" along the Durand Line.

'Increased Temperature Of War'

In another interview circulating online, Asif claimed, "By attacking Islamabad, Afghanistan has increased the temperature of war."

“By attacking Islamabad, Afghanistan has increased the temperature of war.” : Khawaja Asif

When a journalist mentioned that the TTP had claimed responsibility for the Islamabad blast, he seemed genuinely surprised and replied, “Is it?”

Yes, he is the Defence Minister of… pic.twitter.com/2DHImK8wq1

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When the reporter mentioned that the TTP had claimed responsibility for the Islamabad blast, he seemed genuinely surprised and replied, "Is it?"

Later, in a post on X, the Pakistani minister said that Islamabad was in a "state of war", without directly naming anyone.

"We are in a state of war. Anyone who thinks that the Pakistan Army is fighting this war in the Afghan-Pakistan border region and the remote areas of Balochistan should take today's suicide attack at the Islamabad district courts as a wake-up call: this is a war for all of Pakistan, in which the Pakistan Army is giving daily sacrifices and making the people feel secure," Asif wrote on social media platform X.