PAKISTAN’S restrained kinetic use of force has reduced the number of terrorist attacks in the country and, to some extent, rationalized the attitude of the de facto Taliban regime.

However, the threat emanating from Afghanistan has not been entirely eliminated. The artillery fire, airstrikes and drone attacks, causing civilian casualties and injuries on both sides, augmented mistrust and hatred between the two nations. The United States and Israel’s aggression against Iran resulted in a protracted asymmetrical war in the Middle East, which overshadowed the Pakistan and Afghanistan conflict. In reality, Pakistan has been in a state of war with Afghanistan due to the de facto Taliban government’s financing, assisting and harbouring Fitna al Khawarij (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan) and Fitna al Hindustan (Baloch militant groups operating under the tutelage and the patronage of the Indian intelligence agency-RAW) and encouraging them on the behest of India to conduct cross-border terrorism.

After exhausting all the options, Pakistan has launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq (Righteous Fury) against Afghan Taliban military installations, border posts and ammunition depots, and Fitna al Khawarij and Fitna al Hindustan’s sanctuaries in Afghanistan on February 26, 2026. Besides, the Pakistani ruling elite took a bold step to correct the historical narrative that Afghanistan was a graveyard........

© Pakistan Observer