Pakistan Insists Taliban Must Crack Down on Cross-Border Militants to Uphold Ceasefire

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif declared on Monday that the freshly inked ceasefire with Afghanistan will hold firm only if the Taliban cracks down on cross-border terrorism, echoing Islamabad's long-standing grievances against militants using Afghan soil as a launchpad for deadly incursions. The tough-talking statement, delivered a day after high-stakes talks in Doha brokered by Qatar and Turkiye, underscores the deep-seated mistrust plaguing the neighbors' relations, which have simmered since the Taliban's 2021 takeover in Kabul.

Speaking to Dawn and Al Jazeera Arabic, Asif hammered home that the truce—signed by delegations led by himself and Afghan Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob Mujahid—rests on a single, ironclad clause: no incursions from Afghan territory. "Anything coming from Afghanistan will be a violation of this agreement," he warned, adding that the deal explicitly bans such breaches to foster regional stability. "Everything hinges on this one clause," Asif emphasized, noting that both sides have finally acknowledged terrorism as the root poison eroding their shared border for years. The minister revealed that Yaqoob himself conceded militancy's role in fueling tensions, paving the way for joint action to dismantle these threats.

The ceasefire emerged from a week of ferocious clashes that killed dozens and wounded hundreds—the deadliest flare-up since 2021—triggered by Taliban offensives along the disputed Durand Line and Pakistan's retaliatory airstrikes in provinces like Paktika and Kandahar. A suicide bombing in Orakzai district last week claimed 11 Pakistani soldiers, including a Lieutenant Colonel and Major, in a grim escalation blamed on the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the outlawed group Islamabad accuses Kabul of harboring. Pakistan's forces struck verified TTP camps in response, rejecting Taliban claims of civilian hits as propaganda to shield terrorists.

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Optimism flickered briefly as the Doha accord halted immediate hostilities, with Qatar's Foreign Ministry hailing it as a step toward "lasting peace and stability." Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar called it a "first step in the right direction," thanking mediators for their pivotal role. Yet Asif tempered hopes, stressing that "serious efforts" from both nations are essential to eradicate militancy, lest it unleash "serious threats" across South Asia. A follow-up summit in Istanbul on October 25 will iron out implementation details, including mechanisms to monitor compliance and verify the ceasefire's sustainability.

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