PM Shehbaz’s Tough Message to Afghan Govt Wins Support

APP

Peshawar: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif’s unequivocal warning to the Afghan interim government to choose between peaceful relations with Pakistan or continued support for India’s proxy terrorist outfit Fitnaul Khwarij has been widely hailed across security, academic, and political circles.

Chairing a high-level security meeting in Bannu on Saturday, the prime minister drew a red line for Kabul, declaring that harboring terrorists—particularly those linked with the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Fitnaul Khwarij—would not be tolerated.

“The Afghan government must make a choice: either live peacefully with Pakistan or continue supporting terrorism. The era of ambiguity is over, and terrorists will be dealt with full might,” PM Shehbaz said firmly.

Former Inspector General of Police and ex-Home Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, termed the statement timely and clear in light of rising terrorist incidents in KP. He said the nexus between Indian proxies TTP and Fitnaul Khwarij, using Afghan soil for subversive activities, had become intolerable.

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Referring to the Doha Agreement, he noted that the Afghan interim government is bound not to allow its territory to be used for attacks against neighboring states. He also recalled the arrest of Indian spy Commander Kulbhushan Yadav as evidence of New Delhi’s direct involvement in terrorism in Pakistan.

Citing the recent terrorist assault on a Frontier Constabulary (FC) base in Bannu, which claimed the life of Major Adnan Aslam and others, Akhtar Ali Shah said the brutal face of Indian-sponsored terrorism was clear to the world.

Former Chairman of the International Relations Department at the University of Peshawar, Professor Dr Ejaz Khan, also praised the clarity of the PM’s stance. He said Pakistan has always sought peaceful ties with neighbors, but peace cannot come at the cost of civilian and military lives.

He warned that continued attacks would strain trade ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan, stressing that denying safe havens to the TTP and Fitnaul Khwarij is Kabul’s moral, legal, and security responsibility. Dr Khan said the PM’s remarks also reflected unity between Pakistan’s civil and military leadership against terrorism.

The prime minister, hinting at new legal and administrative steps, revealed that the Federal Cabinet would soon meet to implement decisive counter-terrorism measures. “Our enemies want to impose a destructive ideology on our nation.

But Pakistan is resilient, and our armed forces are fully capable of thwarting such designs,” he said. He also urged the Afghan authorities to block foreign funding channels to terrorist outfits and bring culprits to justice.

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Brigadier (R) Mahmood Shah, former Secretary Law and Order of the erstwhile FATA, warned that Afghanistan’s lack of international legitimacy could worsen if it continued allowing cross-border terrorism.

He said Pakistan had hosted over four million Afghan refugees since 1979, but now undocumented Afghans involved in unlawful activities must be repatriated immediately, particularly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Analysts and former officials agreed that the PM’s statement marks a turning point in Pakistan’s counter-terrorism narrative. The strong message reflects a unified national policy unwilling to bear the burden of threats emanating from foreign soil.

As Pakistan braces for decisive action, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s message is clear: peaceful coexistence is welcome, but the nation’s security and sovereignty will be defended at all costs.