Pakistan will have to face partition like 1971, what is the meaning behind Taliban Minister’s threat?

It seems that the demon is ready to bite the hand that feeds him. Once supported by Islamabad, the Taliban in Afghanistan is now threatening the territorial integrity of Pakistan. Taliban Afghanistan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai has warned Pakistan of a partition like the 1971 one in which Bangladesh was born. What is interesting is how the Afghan Taliban have taken over Pakistan, a country that hosted their leaders, funded their insurgency and loaned officers to operate their tanks and armored vehicles.

Taliban minister Stanikzai’s warning came as Pakistan was expelling Afghans from its territory into Afghanistan. He said that Pashtuns living on both sides of the international border never accepted the Durand Line separating Pakistan and Afghanistan. Tolo News quoted Stanikzai as saying at a public meeting: “We have never recognized Durand and will never recognize him.” Today half of Afghanistan has been separated and is on the other side of the Durand Line. Durand is the line that the British drew on the hearts of the Afghans.

Stanikzai said that today, our neighboring country deports refugees in a very cruel manner, and they are being asked to return to their country. Balochistan Post reported that Sainikzai warned that such atrocities could result in events similar to the separation of Bangladesh from Pakistan in 1971. In 2023, Pakistan cracked down on Afghan refugees, demanding that all undocumented migrants leave the country by 1 November. The decision left the future of the estimated 1.7 million Afghans in Pakistan shrouded in uncertainty and fear.

How is ‘Project Taliban’ backfiring on Pakistan?

Pakistan is facing a big problem and its problems with Taliban are increasing. Whether they pull out the Afghans or whether they don’t pull out the Afghans, whatever they do, trouble is going to befall Pakistan. Pakistan’s special envoy to Afghanistan Asif Durrani outrightly rejected Taliban’s stand on the Durand Line. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry had earlier described the Taliban’s non-recognition of the Durand Line as “selfish and baseless”.

Which international law is Pakistan talking about?

Afghan Taliban minister Stanikzai said that requiring visas and passports to travel to Afghanistan is not acceptable to Afghans. Pakistan has always insisted on the validity of the Durand Line through international law and historical agreements. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Abdul Samad Yaqoob said, if anyone talks about the Durand Line, there is an international law. One must respect international law. There is an international border.