PAKISTAN’S restrained kinetic use of force has reduced the number of terrorist attacks in the country and, to some extent, rationalized the attitude of the de facto Taliban regime.
However, the threat emanating from Afghanistan has not been entirely eliminated. The artillery fire, airstrikes and drone attacks, causing civilian casualties and injuries on both sides, augmented mistrust and hatred between the two nations. The United States and Israel’s aggression against Iran resulted in a protracted asymmetrical war in the Middle East, which overshadowed the Pakistan and Afghanistan conflict. In reality, Pakistan has been in a state of war with Afghanistan due to the de facto Taliban government’s financing, assisting and harbouring Fitna al Khawarij (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) and Fitna al Hindustan (Baloch militant groups operating under the tutelage and the patronage of the Indian intelligence agency-RAW) and encouraging them on the behest of India to conduct cross-border terrorism.
After exhausting all the options, Pakistan has launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq (Righteous Fury) against Afghan Taliban military installations, border posts and ammunition depots, and Fitna al Khawarij and Fitna al Hindustan’s sanctuaries in Afghanistan on February 26, 2026. Besides, the Pakistani ruling elite took a bold step to correct the historical narrative that Afghanistan was a graveyard of empires by publicizing that it was a playground of empires. It is significant to educate the people of Afghanistan about the factors that led both the (former) Soviet Union and the United States-led NATO forces to exit Afghanistan in 1988 and 2021, respectively. Indeed, the remarkable development is a shift in Pakistan’s Afghanistan policy from appeasement to a hardened or unsentimental approach. This shift in policy is due to the failure of four years of Islamabad’s diplomatic efforts to convince the defacto Taliban government in Kabul to ensure that Afghan soil is not used by Fitna al Khawarij and Fitna al Hindustan against Pakistan. Islamabad’s approach towards the Taliban regime further hardened after the latter’s refusal to sign a written agreement during the mediation of Turkiya, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to ensure Afghanistan’s soil is not used for terrorism against Pakistan.
During Eid al-Fitr, Pakistan observed a temporary pause in the Operation Ghazab lil-Haq in deference to Eid and in response to requests from a few Islamic countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Qatar. The Operation resumed again due to the Taliban government’s stubborn refusal to resolve differences. Islamabad made clear that the operation will continue “until the objectives are achieved” and Kabul reviews its support for terrorism. According to Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies monthly statistics, a total of 331 people were killed in March compared to 506 in February, marking a 35pc decline in overall combat-related deaths. The Operation Ghazab lil-Haq has diverted the Afghan Taliban’s attention from supporting cross-border terrorism to protecting themselves within Afghanistan. The decrease in terrorist attacks in the country has proven the success of Pakistan’s proactive military strategy.
Islamabad still seems interested in resolving the Afghanistan-based terrorists’ nuisance with Kabul through peaceful means. Therefore, it is keeping the dialogue option open. On April 1, 2026, Pakistani senior officials’ participation in talks with their Afghan counterparts in Urumqi, facilitated by China, has sparked optimism that the dispute can be resolved diplomatically. Though the diplomatic contact with Kabul under the trilateral mechanism revived, which had ceased since February 26, 2026, the permanent ceasefire is awaited. China and Pakistan maintain close cooperation to combat the menace of terrorism. They have convergence of opinion over the defacto Taliban government’s condemnable facilitation approach towards transnational terrorist syndicates. On January 5, 2026, Pakistan and China held the seventh round of the Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue in Beijing and issued a joint communique, which stated, “The two sides called for more visible and verifiable actions to dismantle and eliminate all terrorist organisations based in Afghanistan which continue to pose serious threats to regional and global security and prevent terrorist organisations from using the Afghan territory for terrorism against any other country and to endanger any other country.”
It is imperative that the Afghan Taliban government realize the sensitivity of the situation and act pragmatically to quash terrorist groups’ safe hideouts in Afghanistan and improve relations with the six neighbouring states for the sake of their people’s economic prosperity and regional security. Pakistan and Afghanistan’s border closures since late 2025 have hurt both countries badly. The Taliban government can only end the Afghanistan imbroglio, grow the economic interests of their people and contribute constructively to the regional security and stability by structuring better relations with the neighbouring states. The prerequisite for it is to terminate their militant policy, end support to transnational terrorist groups and sincerely cooperate with neighbouring states on counterterrorism. Thus, the choice lies with the Taliban government to choose between peace and prosperity of the Afghan people or militancy to further chaos and insecurity in Afghanistan.
—The writer is Prof at the School of Politics and IR, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.
