Amid government indications of potential cross-border action in Afghanistan, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan has questioned the ruling coalition’s stance on treating the neighboring country as an adversary.
“Afghanistan is not our enemy. Why are they trying to make it one? Why provoke a war with our Muslim brothers?” Aleema Khan quoted her brother while speaking to the media outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail.
Khan’s reported remarks came as Pakistan’s civil and military leadership convened for an in-camera session of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security. The meeting, prompted by rising terrorism incidents—particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan—was attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lieutenant General Asim Malik, provincial chief ministers, and other top officials.
However, several key figures, including Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, National Assembly Opposition Leader Omar Ayub, and PTI representatives, did not attend the high-level meeting.
During the session, the military leadership provided a comprehensive briefing on the country’s security situation. The meeting followed last week’s attack by the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), whose militants, reportedly in contact with handlers in Afghanistan, derailed train tracks and took over 440 passengers hostage in a remote Bolan district mountain pass.
The closed-door discussion also coincided with troubling figures from the Global Terrorism Index 2025, which ranked Pakistan as the second-most affected country by terrorism. The country saw a sharp 45% rise in terrorism-related fatalities, increasing from 748 deaths in 2023 to 1,081 in 2024—one of the most significant global spikes.
Amid these developments, Islamabad has urged the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to prioritize counterterrorism efforts targeting threats emanating from Afghanistan while signaling a readiness to conduct cross-border operations.
“If we must engage in hot pursuit and enter [Afghanistan] to eliminate our enemies, we will do so,” stated the defense minister.
Echoing this stance, Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Minister Musadik Malik affirmed the government’s resolve: “We have decided to eliminate terrorists through targeted operations, intelligence-based actions, or direct combat. The decision has been made. We will take the fight to those responsible for martyring our children.”
