India’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday supported the “sovereignty” of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan against cross-border attacks from Pakistani forces.
“We have seen reports of border clashes in which several Afghan civilians have been killed. We condemn such attacks on innocent Afghan people. India strongly supports the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Afghanistan,” said Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid accused the Pakistani military of launching attacks into Afghanistan’s Kandahar province on Friday.
“Unfortunately, this evening the Pakistani side once again launched attacks towards Afghanistan in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar, prompting the Islamic Emirate forces to respond,” Mujahid said.
Local Taliban officials accused Pakistan of targeting “civilian infrastructure and the local population,” killing five people and injuring five others. The Taliban claimed three children and one woman were among the casualties.
“Pakistan initiated the aggression, prompting a response from Islamic Emirate forces. Although we halted the fighting, they continued striking civilian targets,” said a Taliban official from Spin Boldak.
Pakistani military officials confirmed the strikes in the Spin Boldak region, but they claimed they were targeting militants from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistani Taliban. Pakistan claimed nine militants involved in “terrorist activities,” including the murder of Pakistani civilians, were killed in the strikes.
A spokesman for Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accused Taliban forces of starting the latest border clash with “unprovoked firing,” prompting “an immediate, befitting, and intense response” from the Pakistani armed forces.
TTP is a terrorist organization that wishes to overthrow the Pakistani government and replace it with a “caliphate” modeled on the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. TTP is outlawed in Pakistan, which refers to the group as “Fitna al-Khawarij,” a derogatory term that essentially means “traitors to Islam.”
Pakistan supported the Taliban during the two decades of American presence in Afghanistan but quickly soured on Afghan Islamists after President Joe Biden’s disastrous withdrawal of American forces in 2021.
Today, Pakistan accuses the Taliban of harboring and aiding TTP and increasingly accuses India of backing the militants as well. India, meanwhile, has been developing friendly diplomatic and economic relations with the Taliban.
Mounting tensions between Islamabad and the Taliban erupted in October, when the Taliban blamed Pakistan for a deadly explosion in the Afghan capital of Kabul. Pakistani state media later reported that Pakistan used drones to conduct “precision strikes” against TTP leaders in Kabul.
Fighting between Pakistan and the Taliban regime could have escalated into a full-blown war, but Qatar was able to broker an uneasy ceasefire in mid-October. Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani said on Sunday his government is attempting to defuse tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan to keep the ceasefire agreement intact.
On Monday, the newly appointed chief of Pakistan’s armed forces, Gen. Asim Munir, said it was time for the Taliban to choose between India and Pakistan, and if it wants friendship with Pakistan, the Taliban must turn against TTP.
“India should not be a victim of any self-deception or assumption, next time Pakistan’s response will be even swifter and more severe. A clear message has been given to the Taliban regime that it has no choice but to choose between Fitna al-Khawarij and Pakistan,” the general said.
“Let all know that the concept of Pakistan is invincible and it is protected by the faith-filled warriors and the firm resolve of a united nation,” he said.
Munir was alluding to the hostilities between India and Pakistan that broke out in May after a horrific terrorist attack against Indian civilians.
Pakistani officials consistently describe the conflict as a rout for India and threaten to hand India an even worse defeat if another conflict erupts. Indian officials render the opposite assessment of the conflict, which they call “Operation Sindoor,” as an act of stern punishment against Pakistan for harboring terrorists.
The conflict ended with a ceasefire brokered by President Donald Trump, an accomplishment which Pakistan felt was worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize.
India has been wary of Gen. Munir’s ascension to top Pakistani military officer, viewing him as an aggressive warmonger who could try to seize the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region by force.
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