Pakistan, Afghanistan border dispute heats up creating security quagmire

Islamabad [Pakistan], August 3 : Pakistan’s unfriendly approach towards its border areas with Afghanistan has resulted in a security quagmire for both countries, reported Khaama Press.
The vision of forcing the new Afghan administration to accept its position on the contentious Durand Line has been blurred by the regular scuffles along the border.
Pakistan’s actions were aimed at forcefully getting its position on the Durand line validated by the Taliban regime, reports The Khaama Press News Agency.
The Pakistani side, which had perceived the Taliban to be subservient to their strategic interests, has gone through a reality check during the past two years, according to a report by The Khaama Press News Agency.
The vision of forcing the new Afghan administration to accept its position on the contentious Durand line has also been blurred by the regular scuffles along the border.
It has also been observed that after the introduction of the new regime in 2021 in Afghanistan, the lives of ordinary tribals living along border areas have been in misery due to frequent incidents of firing and violations of Afghan airspace by Pakistani security forces.
The unilateral establishment of fences and border posts along the disputed border has also been widely targeted at the tribals and hampered their movement.
The fencing has been quite painful for the closely knit Pashtun and Balochi tribal communities living on both sides of the border, including their agricultural land, traditional trade, and movement of labour, according to the publication.
The Khaama Press News Agency also reported that the tribals, especially Pashtuns living in hilly areas on both sides, face the constant ire of the Pak army, which claims to be working to counter terrorism on the international border.
For more than a year now, Afghanistan has been lodging official protests with Pakistan over the issue of firing, airspace violations, and other hostile activities of Pakistani forces.
In June 2023, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) reportedly protested Pakistan's firing of Afghan workers engaged in road construction in the Gurbaz district of Khost province.
During the same month, Afghan Defence Minister Mohammed Yagoob Mujahid reiterated his country’s long-held position on the Durand Line by calling it a ‘fake line’.
Despite highlighting several instances of border violations and unilaterally erecting illegal military installations, Kabul failed to make Islamabad understand its concerns.
The Pak security forces continued with the excesses through fencing, and military installations, apart from firing and pushing drones into Paktika, Paktia, and Nangarhar provinces of Afghanistan, observed The Khaama Press News Agency.
The Pakistani forces are also getting reactions from the Taliban in the form of retaliation, which is wide in scale and reach, says the report by the Agency.
The attacks inside Pakistan by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are also considered to be a manifestation of Pakistan’s failed policy for tribal areas. During the past two years, a spike has been observed in TTP attacks in the tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
While the TTP’s action initially appeared concentrated in the Pashtun belt of north Balochistan, it later seemed to be reaching the Baloch-dominated parts of the province (central and south Balochistan). Apart from it, a few attacks were also reported from Sindh and Punjab.
Several security analysts point to some understanding between the TTP, Baloch insurgents, and religious militant groups in the former tribal regions, states the publication by The Khaama Press News Agency.
The Taliban leaders issuing unofficial provocative statements about Pakistan and its operations are likely to muddle the situation further for Pakistan and its military leadership.
The publication states that Pakistan portrays itself as a victim of terrorism in front of global eyes to establish tactical control over Kabul through the Durand issue.
The report sums up that the pursuit of strategic dominance has however led it to a quandary of violence which is rapidly expanding its reach.
Going by the Taliban’s public denouncement of Pakistani actions, the world no longer seems interested in the Pak narrative of being a sufferer of terrorism, reported Khaama Press.