They New York Times in a recent piece said that tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan escalated after Pakistani fighters pounded parts of Barmal district in Paktika province on December 24.
The Pakistan army claimed that the bombing targeted several Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) members, but the Islamic Emirate rejected the claims adding that refugees including children and women were the victims of the airstrikes.
“The airstrikes were the Pakistani military’s third major operation on Afghan soil since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021, and the second in the past year alone,” the media report says.
The Islamic Emirate responded with attacks out of Khost and Paktia province and claimed to have killed 19 Pakistani security forces.
The New York Times piece suggested that Kabul and Islamabad have many reasons not to let the tensions spiral into broader conflict, while acknowledging that Pakistan’s government must respond to attacks, no matter what the state of governance and economy in the country.
The piece also said that attacks on Pakistani forces have also led to the repatriation campaign of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and the imposition of restrictions on Afghan trade.
In a recent move, Pakistan has begun arresting Pakistan based Afghans who hold Afghan Citizenship Cards (ACC) to repatriate them back to Afghanistan.
Referring to the visit to Kabul by Pakistan’s special envoy Muhammad Sadiq Khan on the very day of the airstrikes, the NYT added that both Kabul and Islamabad have tried to diminish the tensions.
This comes as Kabul has always denied Afghanistan’s soil being used to threaten other countries responding to Pakistan’s claims not to blame Islamic Emirate for their security failure.