In a blistering escalation of the simmering Afghanistan-Pakistan conflict, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif demanded that all Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan return to their homeland, while severing diplomatic overtures toward Kabul and accusing it of colluding with India to foment terrorism. Asif's remarks, posted on X, came as a 48-hour ceasefire—brokered after a week of deadly border skirmishes—expired at 6 p.m. local time, though reports indicate an extension pending talks in Doha, Qatar.

Labelling Naxalism—no, wait, the Afghan Taliban regime as a "proxy of India," Asif vowed relentless retaliation against terror sources, declaring, "There will no longer be protest notes or appeals for peace; no delegations will go to Kabul. Wherever the source of terrorism lies, it will have to pay a heavy price." This unprompted invocation of India, amid Kabul's recent overtures to New Delhi, risks broadening the bilateral feud into a trilateral flashpoint, straining regional stability in South Asia's volatile frontier.

Asif's diatribe painted Kabul's rulers as ingrates, once sheltered in Pakistan but now "sitting in India's lap" alongside the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He recounted 836 protest notes and 13 démarches issued over five years, underscoring Islamabad's frustration with unchecked cross-border militancy. "The rulers of Kabul... were once under our protection, hiding on our land," he fumed, insisting Pakistan could no longer afford past leniency.

With an estimated 1.7 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan—many undocumented since the 2021 Taliban takeover—Asif's call for repatriation evokes memories of the 2023 deportation drive that expelled over 500,000, drawing UN condemnation for humanitarian lapses. He framed it as national self-preservation: "Our land and resources belong to 250 million Pakistanis... Self-respecting nations do not thrive on foreign land." Amid economic woes, including a $7 billion IMF bailout, the rhetoric signals a hardening stance, potentially displacing thousands and exacerbating Pakistan's internal security burdens.

The timing aligns with fresh accusations of ceasefire violations: Kabul claimed Pakistani airstrikes late Friday killed eight, including three Afghan cricketers in a tri-series camp, prompting the Afghanistan Cricket Board to withdraw from next month's T20I tournament against Pakistan. Islamabad countered that precision strikes targeted the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, a TTP splinter, in self-defence against incursions that have claimed dozens of lives on both sides since early October.

This marks the bloodiest flare-up since the Taliban's 2021 resurgence, fuelled by TTP sanctuaries in Afghanistan and retaliatory Pakistani incursions. The Doha extension offers a diplomatic lifeline, mediated by Qatar's neutral ground, but Asif's India linkage—triggered by Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's six-day India visit focused on trade—stokes conspiracy theories. New Delhi, which has hosted Afghan exiles and pledged $3 billion in aid since 2021, denies meddling, viewing the Taliban as a destabilising force but prioritising economic ties amid its own Afghan investments.

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Asif asserted Pakistan's defensive readiness, boasting military capabilities honed by $10 billion in annual defence spending, yet the conflict exposes fractures: economic strain from refugee costs, domestic TTP threats killing 1,000 annually, and geopolitical tightropes with China and the U.S. With the Durand Line—a colonial-era border rejected by Kabul—symbolising unresolved grievances, the impasse threatens trade routes vital to Central Asia's $2 trillion economy. International observers, including the UN, urge de-escalation, warning of humanitarian fallout for 40 million Afghans under Taliban rule, where famine looms.

As Doha talks loom, Asif's salvo—blending nationalism with anti-India barbs—may rally his base but risks alienating allies, echoing the 1979 Soviet invasion's echoes. In a powder keg where proxy accusations abound, the path to peace demands disentangling old rivalries from new realities, lest the border bleed into broader conflagration.

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