Kandahar, Afghanistan: Tensions between Kabul and Islamabad sharpened this week after a senior Afghan spokesperson accused Pakistan of destabilizing the region through cross-border strikes, while religious scholars and analysts weighed in on an increasingly bitter dispute.
Speaking at the Hamadia religious school in Aino Mina, Kandahar, government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistan’s recent attacks on Afghan soil were an attempt to withdraw from the so-called “Mecca Joint Defense Agreement” and to portray itself internationally as a country at war with its neighbor. He said Saudi Arabia had urged Islamabad to honor its commitments under the pact, and dismissed Pakistan’s earlier claims of Afghan drone strikes as baseless, reported by the TOLOnews.
“Pakistan shamelessly attacked Afghanistan after claiming, just a day earlier, that it had been targeted by drone strikes from our territory,” Mujahid said, adding that Islamabad’s accusations about the presence of the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP, in Afghanistan were undermined by strikes that hit civilian facilities rather than militant targets. He maintained that Afghanistan does not support armed opposition groups in any country but warned that a suitable response to Pakistani strikes was forthcoming.
The remarks drew support from religious figures in Kandahar. Sheikh Abdul Hadi Hammad, head of the Hamadia Islamic Foundation, questioned why Pakistani scholars, citizens, and the broader Muslim world had stayed largely silent over strikes on what he called a defenseless neighbor, contrasting it with swift reactions to crises elsewhere.
Political analysts offered a more measured reading of events. Bilal Fatimi suggested Islamabad’s military actions were, in part, a distraction from domestic setbacks and unmet international pledges. Sayed Haroon Hashemi warned that continued strikes risked deepening Pakistan’s isolation and would ultimately prove costly.
According to local reports, Pakistani strikes in recent days have hit Paktia, Khost, and Kandahar provinces, killing four civilians. Afghan officials have vowed to respond “at an appropriate time,” though no further details were given.
The exchange marks a fresh escalation in a relationship long strained by disputes over militancy, border security, and mutual accusations of harboring hostile groups.
