Kousar Khan
After more than a week of hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan, some of the fiercest since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, a fragile calm seems to have settled. The Doha agreement, brokered by Qatar and Turkiye, once again promises that Afghan soil will not be used against Pakistan. But the very acknowledgment of this clause is itself an admission that Afghan territory was being used to harm Pakistan.
The question is: how many times will Pakistan have to remind Kabul of its own commitments? How long can Afghanistan keep sowing terror, hosting killers, and then play the victim in the name of Islam and brotherhood?
It’s clear, Pakistan has shown utmost restraint for years. Our diplomats have knocked on every door, our envoys have met every Afghan official, and our soldiers have suffered patiently in the line of fire. But when the attacks cross every limit, when innocent Pakistanis are butchered by TTP suicide bombers operating from across the border, from a State proclaiming to follow the model of Riyasat-e-Madina. Hypocrisy gets defenestrated.
Islam itself rejects such cowardice and hypocrisy. In Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 190, Allah commands, “Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors.”
And again in Surah Al-Hajj, verse 39, “Permission is given to those who are fought because they were wronged; and indeed, Allah is competent to give them victory.”
Our faith gives us the right and the duty to defend our land, our people, and our sovereignty. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever is killed protecting his property is a martyr; whoever is killed protecting his family is a martyr.” (Sahih Bukhari 2480, Sahih Muslim 141)
So when Pakistan defends itself from those who cross into our land with bombs and bullets, it is not war against Muslims, it is defense against oppression. It is jihad against fasad.
The facts speak louder than propaganda. Between 2024 and 2025, 166 Afghan terrorists were killed inside Pakistan during counterterrorism operations. Another 133 were neutralized while trying to infiltrate from across the border. In the same period, 30 Afghan suicide bombers struck inside Pakistan. These numbers are not mere statistics, they are evidence of betrayal, of a neighbor’s failure to act upon its claims.
For years, Pakistan has relied on diplomacy, high-level visits, border flag meetings, joint coordination sessions, and multiple demarches. Yet, when dialogue failed and Afghan soil continued to bleed Pakistan, our state had no choice but to act. Every nation has a red line, ours is our people’s safety and when redline is crossed, Pakistan Army never holds back!
Some voices, both domestic and foreign, are now framing this as “Muslim versus Muslim.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Our ulema have been clear and united- the Khawarij ideology of the TTP is un-Islamic, their so-called jihad is rebellion, and their actions are pure fasad. No religion, least of all Islam, permits killing of innocents and sowing terror purposelessly on fellow humans. Is Afghanistan following the model of Riyasat-e-Madina or Greater Israel over the course?
Let’s also not forget, the same Afghanistan that hosts and shelters TTP militants, let its ground be used as a launchpad of terrorism against Pakistan and make alliances with a Hindu-State (India) to sandwich Pakistan and fund proxies, expects the world to respect its sovereignty. But sovereignty is a two-way street. If Kabul does not change its actions and intentions, it has no right to point fingers at Pakistan or cast aspersions.
Pakistan’s recent defensive actions were not aggression-they were an assertion of survival. A message that we will not allow anyone, no matter who they claim to be, to harm our people and get away with it.
The Taliban’s statement after the Doha talks that “no hostile actions will be taken against Pakistan” is welcome but familiar. Similar promises were made before, only to be broken later. This time, Pakistan and its allies must ensure a verifiable monitoring mechanism, as Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar rightly said, so that these pledges translate into real peace, not empty words.
It is now up to the Afghan Taliban to choose: will they stand as rulers of a sovereign country, or continue acting as patrons of chaos and puppets of rogue countries?
For Pakistan, the Holy Quran, the Hadith, and the moral law of nations all stand with Pakistan’s right to defend itself. Peace can only come when Afghanistan stops exporting terror, and starts honoring its words.
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