THE events of recent days have exposed the depth of Pakistan’s security concerns and the growing hostility of both India and Afghanistan towards Pakistan.
What began as diplomatic unease over Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s visit to New Delhi has now transformed into an open aggression, following an unprovoked attack on Pakistan’s border by Afghan Taliban and Indian-backed Fitna al-Khawarij (FAK) militants.
The attack was decisively repelled by Pakistan’s Armed Forces, who inflicted heavy losses on the attackers and destroyed multiple Taliban and Khawarij strongholds. But the timing of the assault, coinciding with Muttaqi’s India visit is too telling to dismiss as coincidence. It reflects a troubling alignment between Kabul and New Delhi that goes beyond diplomacy and into the realm of coordinated hostility.
DG ISPR had warned that Pakistan faces a three-front nexus: elements within the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IAG), India and insurgent groups such as FAK, Fitna al-Hindustan (FAH) and ISKP. This triad is enabling cross-border terrorism and threatening Pakistan’s internal stability. The Afghan Taliban’s latest provocation proves that warning true. It is a reminder that the lines between state authority and terrorist facilitation in Afghanistan have all but vanished. Equally significant is the diplomatic backdrop. Muttaqi’s extended visit to India, approved under UN travel exemptions, has raised serious questions in Islamabad. Why are senior Taliban officials engaging New Delhi — the same state long accused of sponsoring anti-Pakistan militancy — at a time of heightened border tension? The optics are damning: even as Pakistani soldiers were embracing martyrdom, Kabul’s emissaries were being welcomed by India’s External Affairs Minister and National Security Adviser.
New Delhi’s decision to upgrade its technical mission in Kabul to a full embassy further deepens suspicion. For Pakistan, this is not a benign diplomatic normalization but a strategic move to cement influence inside Afghanistan — effectively transforming Kabul into another theatre of India’s hybrid warfare against Pakistan. Such coordination points to a broader agenda: the use of Afghan soil to sustain a campaign of destabilization that India cannot directly wage across the eastern border.
Pakistan’s patience, however, is wearing thin. Having hosted millions of Afghan refugees and extended economic concessions for decades, Islamabad sees this latest betrayal as the breaking point. The ISPR’s message following the border clash was clear — Pakistan desires peace and constructive diplomacy, but it will not tolerate the treacherous use of Afghan territory for terrorism. The defence forces stand ready to defend every inch of the country’s soil and neutralize threats, wherever they emerge.
The Indo-Afghan nexus now stands exposed. Whether through diplomatic engagement, covert funding or armed proxies, both states appear aligned in undermining Pakistan’s stability. The consequences of this reckless partnership could be disastrous for regional peace. Kabul must decide whether it wishes to be a responsible neighbour or an extension of Indian strategy. Pakistan has made its position unmistakable: it seeks regional peace, but not at the cost of its sovereignty or security. Any aggression — direct or by proxy — will be met with decisive response!
—The writer is an alumnus of QAU, MPhil scholar and a freelance columnist, based in Islamabad.
