Taliban prevents Pakistani soldiers from building a fence at Durand Line

Kabul/Islamabad – The Taliban have once again threatened the Pakistani army, which was trying to erect a barbed wire fence at the Durand Line between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Taliban warned that the Durand Line was unacceptable to them and that the Pakistani army should not venture into Afghanistan again. The Taliban has driven away from the Pakistani troops three times from the Durand Line in the last two weeks. Pakistan has experienced strong repercussions as the Pakistani analysts and journalists criticised for suffering losses since the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan.

Two days ago, the Taliban received information that the Pakistani military had initiated suspicious movements in the southern province of Nimroz. Four Taliban vehicles immediately reached near Pakistan in the Chahar Burjak district. Pakistani troops were trying to build barbed-wire fences and security posts intruding 15 kilometres inside Afghanistan. However, as soon as the Taliban vehicles reached there, the Pakistani army stopped working.

Taliban commanders later threatened Pakistani troops not to return to the area. Taliban confirmed that the Pakistani soldiers fled from the area without even taking the materials they got for the fencing. It is claimed Pakistan soldiers fled the area after seeing Taliban-flagged vehicles even before Taliban troops arrived at the spot. However, this could not be confirmed. Pakistani journalists are pointing out that in the last two weeks, the Taliban have forced the Pakistani army to withdraw from the border at Nangarhar, Helmand and now Nimroz.

Some Pakistani journalists criticised that the Taliban, who came to power due to Pakistan’s support, threatened Pakistan. The Pakistani media has been reporting a sharp rise in terrorist attacks in Pakistan since the Taliban took control of Kabul. Terrorist attacks in Pakistan have not decreased even during the November ceasefire, reported a Pakistani newspaper.

Meanwhile, the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan is 2,670 km long. The Durand Line drawn by the British in 1893 is not acceptable to Afghanistan. Afghanistan claims most of the territory from Pakistan’s Balochistan to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as its sovereign territory. The Afghan government had earlier accused Pakistan of taking advantage of the instability in Afghanistan to occupy its territory. The stand of the Taliban, which is currently in power in Afghanistan, is no different. The Taliban had threatened that the Pakistani territory up to Atak is Afghan territory and this region uniting the Pashtun community, would be freed from Pakistan.

The Taliban has accused Pakistan of dividing the Pashtun population by erecting a fence along the Durand Line. The Taliban has warned Pakistan that this would not be tolerated. Against this backdrop, over the past few days, the Taliban’s actions have become a cause of concern for Pakistan.