By Asghar Ali Mubarak
Pakistan’s warning that terrorism emanating from Afghan soil has become the “biggest and most serious threat” to its national security is no longer a rhetorical flourish or a diplomatic posture. It reflects a reality that has hardened over recent years, measured in lives lost, borders destabilized and trust steadily eroded. The joint call by Pakistan and China urging Kabul to take concrete and verifiable action against terrorist organizations operating from Afghan territory therefore carries weight far beyond routine diplomacy. It signals growing regional impatience with denial, ambiguity and half-measures.
The latest Pakistan–China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue in Beijing placed counter-terrorism at the center of an otherwise wide-ranging agenda covering trade, investment, defence, regional affairs and the future of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Beijing’s explicit appreciation of Pakistan’s security measures, particularly those taken to protect Chinese personnel, projects and institutions, underlined a shared assessment: militant violence is not a bilateral irritant but a regional threat. When China, traditionally cautious in its public language on Afghanistan, aligns so openly with Pakistan’s concerns, it marks a significant moment.
Islamabad’s position has remained consistent. It maintains that militant groups, most notably the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, continue to use Afghan territory as a base for launching attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul has repeatedly rejected these allegations, arguing that it does not allow its soil to be used against any country. Yet the gap between assertion and ground reality has widened. Pakistan has presented its case not only in bilateral channels but also before the United Nations Security Council, where it has accused the Afghan Taliban of tolerating, and in some cases facilitating, the presence of multiple armed groups operating across the border.
According to Pakistan’s briefing at the UN, a range of organizations including ISIS-K, Al-Qaeda, TTP, ETIM, the Baloch Liberation Army and the Majeed Brigade maintain safe havens in Afghanistan. These groups, Islamabad says, cooperate in training, arms trafficking and coordinated attacks. The human cost is stark. Pakistan claims that nearly 1,200 of its citizens have been killed this year alone in attacks linked to cross-border terrorism, while hundreds of militants have been neutralized in counter-operations. These figures, disputed by Kabul but echoed in Pakistan’s internal security assessments, have fueled a growing sense that patience is running out.
The October border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which reportedly left dozens dead on both sides, were a visible manifestation of deeper tensions. Although a ceasefire brokered in Doha has held unevenly, the underlying drivers of conflict remain unresolved. Pakistan’s position is that border tensions are inseparable from terrorism and that without decisive action by Kabul, stability will remain elusive. Its call for the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan to provide an impartial assessment reflects both frustration and a desire to internationalize what it sees as a systemic problem.
China’s role in this equation is crucial. As Afghanistan’s neighbor and a major regional power with deep economic stakes in Pakistan, Beijing has its own security concerns, particularly regarding militant threats to Chinese nationals and projects. Its endorsement of Pakistan’s counter-terrorism efforts, and its joint appeal for Afghanistan to eliminate terror groups, sends a clear message to Kabul that the issue cannot be brushed aside as a bilateral dispute or blamed solely on external actors.
At the same time, the Pakistan-China statement stopped short of advocating isolation. Instead, it emphasized the need to encourage Afghanistan to adopt moderate policies, build a comprehensive political structure and integrate into the international community. This dual approach of pressure and engagement reflects a recognition that lasting stability cannot be achieved through force alone. Afghanistan’s internal fragmentation, described by Pakistani officials as an uneasy alliance of armed factions rather than a coherent central authority, complicates accountability and enforcement.
Pakistan’s military leadership has been unusually candid in public briefings about the evolving nature of the threat. According to the army spokesperson, all major terrorist attacks in Pakistan last year involved Afghan nationals, and militant groups are now deploying increasingly sophisticated tactics, including armed quadcopters and advanced surveillance. The claim that US military equipment left behind after the withdrawal has fallen into militant hands adds another layer of urgency. These assertions, whether fully accepted internationally or not, shape Pakistan’s security calculus and its demand for what it calls “verifiable action” from Kabul.
(The writer is a senior journalist covering various beats, can be reached at editorial@metro-morning.com)
