The ongoing violent conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan could escalate into a major conflict. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is behind the attack. The timing of Pakistan's attack is suspicious, as it comes at a time of growing India-Afghanistan relations. Pakistan is already experiencing unrest, and this situation is not favorable for India either.

New Delhi: The latest clashes and deaths along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border have raised fears of a major conflict. The immediate source of this tension between the two countries is the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) factor. India cannot ignore the fact that Pakistan launched this attack on Taliban-ruled Afghanistan just as Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was visiting India; and the latest clashes erupted just as he was preparing to return to Kabul after completing a successful six-day visit to India.

Escalating conflict in Pakistan-Afghanistan

The latest development is that Pakistani soldiers deployed along the border and along the disputed Durand Line have suffered heavy casualties in retaliatory action by Taliban fighters. Several videos have gone viral on social media, showing Taliban army commanders with the bodies of Pakistani soldiers, holding them hostage, or Pakistani soldiers fleeing in the opposite direction. According to an ET report, at least six Pakistani soldiers were killed near the Ghiljo area in Orokzai district alone. According to Afghan media, following intense fighting in Kandahar's Spin Boldak district, violent clashes have erupted in Paktika province. Afghan media, quoting security sources, claim that Afghan security forces have driven the Pakistani army away from the Spin Boldak gate.

Timing of Pakistan's attack suspicious

The current front Pakistan has opened against Afghanistan is being attributed to the alleged presence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan in Afghanistan. However, the current Taliban administration has categorically denied this. According to reports, after launching an operation against the TTP, Pakistan's army, led by Asim Munir, has asked Kabul to hand over its leaders. However, Munir's timing of this operation cannot be ignored due to the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Afghanistan. Pakistan is not accusing the TTP of having a presence in Afghanistan just recently.

What is the aim of Pakistan's current mission?

Pakistan alleges that the TTP has increased attacks on Pakistani security forces and civilians since 2021. Its stated goal is to overthrow the current regime in Pakistan, impose strict Sharia law, and free its tribal areas and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province from foreign influence. Both situations are not good for India. Currently, due to the Pakistani Army's increased influence in the country, its Army Chief, General Asim Munir, appears to be trying to re-incite unrest in Afghanistan, a situation that is not good for India either.

Pakistan may do something wrong again

On the other hand, the current unrest in Pakistan, and the resulting civil war, pose even greater risks from India's perspective. The Pakistani military and government have always looked at India with suspicious eyes to divert public attention in such situations. As for the TTP, it was founded by Baitullah Mehsud in 2007. Its mission was to confront the Pakistani army in Pakistan's tribal areas.

PC:NBT