Islamabad: Tension between Pakistan and Taliban is on the rise following attacks on the border since the group came to power in Kabul. Pakistan started fencing the porous border in 2014 to contain cross-border terrorist attacks and smuggling. It says it has fenced more than 90% of the border, but militants were able to enter Pakistan and carry out attacks where the border remained unchecked and unfenced. Pakistan previously clashed with the US-backed Afghan government over the border leaving many soldiers dead, so when the Taliban captured power in Kabul in summer 2021 it was celebrated in Pakistan.
Recently five Pakistani soldiers were killed at a north-western border post in Khurram district by
militants inside Afghanistan in an attack claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban-Pakistan (TTP). After a ceasefire between the group and the Pakistani government collapsed within weeks, the Pakistani foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, said Islamabad had told the Afghan Taliban leadership it considered TTP as a test case of its ability to control militants.
In at least three separate incidents, Taliban fighters have been seen breaking the fencing and threatening Pakistani soldiers in border areas. The Taliban’s defence ministry spokesperson said in January that Pakistan has no right to fence the border and divide ethnic Pashtuns living on either side.
In the beginning, Pakistani authorities believed the Taliban would serve Pakistan’s interests and [not] allow militants to use its soil against Pakistan. But it does not seem to be the case any more, analyst Zahid Hussain said, adding that the extremists were emboldened by the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan and aspired to do the same in Pakistan.
