Five heavily-armed gunmen crossed into Tajikistan on Wednesday and killed two border guards before dying themselves. It was the third such raid in recent weeks. Dushanbe\u2019s border agency has publicly accused the Taliban government of failing to meet its international obligations on border security, while its demand for a formal apology from Kabul remains unanswered. The silence signals a growing impatience across Central Asia with the Taliban\u2019s inability-or unwillingness-to curb militancy spilling beyond Afghanistan\u2019s borders. The stakes are equally high for Pakistan, and the message remains just as clear: if the Afghan government cannot rein in militants, the repercussions will be borne by its neighbours. Within its own borders, Pakistan\u2019s security forces continue to confront Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) networks with grim regularity. Thursday saw our troops valiantly thwart an ambush in North Waziristan\u2019s Mir Ali district after an hour-long exchange of heavy fire. In separate operations, the military\u2019s media affairs wing reported the killing of 10 terrorists in Dera Ismail Khan and Balochistan, including Dilawar, a ring-leader carrying a Rs 4 million bounty. These men were actively plotting attacks on security forces and civilians. Still, such tactical successes underline, rather than diminish, the scale of the threat. Pakistan\u2019s score on terrorism has climbed, with the Global Terrorism Index 2025 ranking it second worldwide as militant attack deaths jumped 45% year-on-year. An Islamabad-based think-tank reported over 2,500 Pakistani casualties from militancy in 2024, making it one of the bloodiest years in a decade.
\nPrime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stated bluntly that Pakistan\u2019s most lethal militant threats originate from across the Afghan border, arguing that fighters and planners operate with impunity inside Afghanistan. The central problem remains unchanged: so long as the Taliban\u2019s ideological and logistical ecosystem survives, the TTP will not disappear. As long as Kabul tolerates TTP sanctuaries on its soil, Pakistan\u2019s counterterrorism fight will grow harder, costlier, and more destabilising. Diplomatic efforts have yielded little progress, with recent talks in Istanbul failing to break the deadlock.<\/p>\n
The shift in Afghan delegates\u2019 stance on dismantling TTP bases illustrates the systemic issues underpinning this impasse. The Taliban\u2019s reliance on the TTP for internal security makes any meaningful partnership difficult, if not impossible. However, PM Sharif has flatly warned that Pakistan \u201cwill have nothing to do with the Afghan interim government\u201d if Kabul continues to side with terrorists. Taliban spokesmen responded not by delivering on promises, but by lecturing Pakistan to \u201cfoil\u201d attacks and \u201cshare information\u201d in a jarring role-reversal while militants roam Afghan valleys unchecked.
\nPakistan or any other sovereign country cannot be expected to keep turning the other cheek. Tajikistan has already voiced its determination to protect its borders \u201cby all means,\u201d and Pakistan will likewise be compelled to act to secure its own frontier if diplomatic channels remain barren. For the Taliban to claim even the most basic mantle of responsible governance, they must address the rampant militancy that has taken root within Afghanistan\u2019s borders. The current state of affairs cannot continue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Five heavily-armed gunmen crossed into Tajikistan on Wednesday and killed two border guards before dying themselves. It was the third such raid in recent weeks. Dushanbe\u2019s border agency has publicly accused the Taliban government of failing to meet its international obligations on border security, while its demand for a formal apology from Kabul remains unanswered. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-522309","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-editorial"},"yoast_head":"\n