Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 10: As India reminded Pakistan of it illegally holding on a part of Kashmir by referring to Afghanistan as its “contiguous neighbour” having a 106- kilometre long corridor with Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, Afghanistan and Pakistan on Friday accused each other of transporting terrorism on each other’s territory.
The Pakistan Army on Friday issued a stern warning to terrorists and their facilitators, rejecting the idea of engaging in talks with them to resolve the issue of militancy in the country.
In contrast, the visiting Afghanistan foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi while claiming that the Taliban government had wiped out the Pakistan-based terrorist groups from its soil, without naming Pakistan said, “Let other countries also act against such terror groups like Afghanistan did for peace.”
Afghanistan’s reference as a “contiguous territory” to India was mentioned in a joint statement issued by the external affairs minister S Jaishankar with Mr Muttaqi, currently on a week-long visit to India, with India firing a strong message to Pakistan over its illegal occupation of part of Kashmir.
India and Afghanistan share a narrow 106 km land border – the Wakhan Corridor, a strategically important parcel being eyed by the Chinese. In the context of Jaishankar’s statement, the corridor connects Afghanistan with that part of Kashmir unlawfully controlled by Pakistan. The reference to a “contiguous neighbour” is, therefore, a sharp reminder to Pak.
“As a contiguous neighbour, and a well-wisher of the Afghan people, India has a deep interest in your development and progress,” the minister said as he announced restoration of full diplomatic ties with Afghanistan, including upgrading the mission in Kabul to an embassy.
And that was not the only dig at Pakistan. He also said both India and Afghanistan ‘face the problem of cross-border terrorism.’ That remark is significant since it comes against the backdrop of military action by Pak in Afghanistan – against what the former claims are Afghan-backed terrorists striking its territory.
Mr Muttaqi in a statement had claimed that the Pakistan-based terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, which had long been operated from Afghan soil, had been wiped out in the last four years of Taliban administration and advised Pakistan to follow the same path of peace.
“Not a single one of them is in Afghanistan. Not an inch of land is controlled by them in Afghanistan. The Afghanistan against whom we carried out an operation (in 2021) has transformed,” Muttaqi said.
Muttaqi also addressed the reports of a recent blast in Kabul and accused Pakistan of orchestrating the act. “There has been an attack near the border in remote areas. We consider this act of Pakistan wrong. Problems cannot be solved like this. We are open for talks. They should solve their problems on their own. Afghanistan has peace and progress after 40 years. No one should have a problem with it. Afghanistan is now an independent nation. Why are people troubled if we have peace?” he said.
He also warned that the courage of Afghans should not be tested. “If someone wants to do this (cause Afghans trouble), they should ask the Soviet Union, America, and NATO. They will explain that it is not good to play games with Afghanistan,” the minister said. Kabul also wants better relations with Islamabad, but it cannot be one-sided, he asserted.
Firing back at Afghanistan, the Pakistan Army spokesman Lt Gen Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry said, “Unfortunately, a deliberate plan was carried out in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to provide space to terrorists which has harmed the public and law enforcement agencies.”
Addressing the media in Peshawar, he talked at length about terrorism in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, presenting data to show that militancy has increased since 2021 after the Taliban takeover of Kabul. He said that failure to follow through on the National Action Plan (NAP) to eliminate terrorism was the main reason for the current wave of militancy in the country.
The NAP, a document prepared in 2014 following the terrorist attack at an army school in Peshawar, had 20 points to eliminate militancy. It was updated in 2021 with 14 points to tackle militancy. “The number one point talks about using force to eliminate militants, but it is just one point about using kinetic force to tackle terrorism,” he said, adding that all other points are related to other aspects of dealing with militancy.
He said it was the responsibility of the provincial government and local administration to implement the other points, like improving law and order, developing a narrative, prosecuting militants and expelling illegal aliens.
“Governance and public welfare were deliberately weakened, and attempts were made to build a misleading narrative. The people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are paying the price with their blood and sacrifices even today,” he said, criticising jailed former premier Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, which rules the province.
Giving facts and figures, he said 14,535 operations had been conducted in 2024, which killed 769 militants and 577 security personnel and civilians, including 272 army soldiers, 140 police personnel and 165 civilians. He said that until September 15, 2025, another 10,115 operations had been done, killing 917 terrorists and 516 soldiers and civilians, including 303 army personnel, 73 police personnel and 132 civilians.
The army spokesman said the number of operations and rebels killed currently showed that the security forces were actively pursuing terrorists, but a lack of governance has created space for militancy. He also targeted Afghanistan for failure to eliminate a safe haven, adding that Pakistan has been engaging at multiple levels to convince them to take action against people involved in cross-border terrorism.
He claimed that Afghan nationals were involved in terrorism in Pakistan, and 161 Afghans were killed in Pakistan in 2024, and another 135 were killed while entering from the border. He said that 30 suicide bombers were Afghans involved in terrorism last year.
Mr Chaudhry also blamed India for allegedly patronising militancy in Afghanistan. Criticising the K.P. government, he said the provincial government failed to develop its counter-terrorism department, which has only 3,200 personnel and could register only 55 per cent of religious seminaries in KP.