'Everything hinges on...:' Khawaja Asif links Pak-Afghan peace to Taliban halting cross-border incursions

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Monday said that the ceasefire agreement between Islamabad and Kabul depends on the Taliban’s ability to control militants launching attacks on Pakistan from Afghan territory.

“Anything coming from Afghanistan will be a violation of this agreement,” Asif told Reuters in an interview, referring to a ceasefire pact reached in Doha over the weekend following several days of deadly border clashes — the worst since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021.

“Everything hinges on this one clause,” he added.

Ground clashes between the former allies, along with Pakistani airstrikes across the disputed 2,600-km (1,600-mile) border, were sparked after Islamabad called on Kabul to rein in militants allegedly operating from safe havens inside Afghanistan.

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Asif said the agreement signed by Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Qatar clearly states that no cross-border incursions will be permitted.

“We have a ceasefire agreement as long as there is no violation of the agreement which is already in force,” he added.

The minister said Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, the umbrella of several Islamist militant groups, operates out of Afghanistan to attack Pakistan “in connivance” with the Taliban.

Kabul has previously denied such accusations.

With inputs from agencies