Airstrike on Afghanistan, Taliban army turned guns towards Pakistan, how did the relations between the two countries deteriorate?

All is not well on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. In fact, relations between the two countries have been deteriorating in recent times and after the March 18 incident, it is sure to get worse. Islamabad confirmed it had launched an intelligence-based counter-terrorism operation in the neighboring country, killing eight civilians. In response, the Taliban government opened fire on Pakistani soldiers on the border. Now, tensions between the two countries are at their peak, with Pakistan accusing Afghanistan of harboring terrorists and the Taliban denying the allegation. In fact, this will be another chapter in the long-running tension between the Government of Pakistan and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

But what actually happened? And how does this incident affect the already strained relations between Islamabad and Kabul? In the early hours of 18 March, Pakistan launched two air strikes in Paktika and Khost provinces in eastern Afghanistan. According to Taliban officials, at least eight people, including three children, were killed in the attacks. Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the incident and warned Pakistan not to blame Afghanistan for the problems and lack of control in its territory. He said that such incidents could have very bad consequences which would not be under the control of Pakistan.

Hours later, the Pakistan Foreign Office also confirmed the attacks and said it had conducted an intelligence-based counter-terrorism operation inside border areas with Afghanistan. It further said that terrorists belonging to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group were the main targets of its operation. It said that these terrorists, along with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), were responsible for several terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and law enforcement officials.

A few hours later the Taliban condemned the attacks. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid wrote that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan strongly condemns these attacks and calls this reckless action a violation of Afghanistan’s territory. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which has a long experience of freedom struggle against the world’s superpowers, does not allow anyone to invade its territory.

TTP and Pakistan

However, such attacks along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border are nothing new. In recent years, attacks on Pakistani soil by the TTP, a globally designated terrorist group and considered a close ally of the ruling Taliban in Kabul, have increased. In fact, according to the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies, the country saw a 17 percent increase in terrorist violence in 2023 with a total of 306 terrorist attacks that left 693 people dead. The report further said that the increasing attacks by terrorists indicate that TTP and its allies will continue to resort to intensified terrorism attacks with the aim of ‘forcing’ Pakistan to resume the dialogue process.