Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Leonid Savin
[REGNUM] On the night of October 12, heavy fighting began on the Afghan-Pakistani border, involving tanks, artillery, and aircraft.
According to official Pakistani reports, “on the night of October 11-12, the Afghan Taliban and the Indian-sponsored Fitna al-Khawarij launched an unprovoked attack on Pakistan along the Afghan-Pakistan border.”
Just before the clashes, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Mutaqi visited India, and on Sunday, Indian aircraft appeared near the Pakistani border, forcing Islamabad to scramble its own combat aircraft.
The conflict left 23 Pakistani soldiers killed and 29 wounded. Pakistan says more than 200 Taliban and affiliated organizations have been killed.
| Which means that the real number is something between one and 199… |
However, it's important to remember that each side is simultaneously waging an information war, interpreting the facts to their advantage. For example, on the night of the conflict, Afghan news sites published photos of a convoy of "jihadmobiles"
| …American Humvees, left behind when President Biden ordered the Army to pull out so precipitously after the Taliban conquered Kabul… |
heading to the battlefield, and even reported that a Taliban plane had struck Lahore. This was blatant disinformation.
Moreover, photo and video evidence confirms that the main strongholds on the Afghan side were suppressed by massive Pakistani army fire, and the border posts were subsequently recaptured. In total, the Pakistanis captured 21 fortified positions on Afghan territory, all of which were used in the night attack.
Afghanistan, in turn, says the attack was a response to Pakistani strikes on its territory that took place on Thursday.
Islamabad counters: the strikes were aimed only at training camps for terrorists who subsequently infiltrate Pakistani territory.
| Yes, but the Afghan Taliban are protecting the TTP, and no doubt there’s been a good deal of intermarriage as well, just as they’ve been doing with Al Qaeda. As a result, they’re taking Pakistan’s bombs personally. |
Pakistani forces have previously carried out similar attacks, which angered the Taliban. Apparently, this time they decided to try to respond with force, which led to the escalation.
The Taliban also stated that they halted the attacks at the request of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, not due to losses. However, as a result of the clash, Pakistan took control of a 2,600-kilometer border, partially penetrating into Afghan territory. All checkpoints were closed.
To clarify the reasons for the outbreak of conflict, it is necessary to conduct a retrospective analysis, since the problem of relations between the two countries is quite old and skirmishes could very well break out again or even escalate into a full-fledged war.
Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have always been quite peculiar. From 1979 to the early 1990s, Pakistan served as a staging base for mujahideen rebels opposing the Soviet-backed government.
After the Taliban came to power, giving shelter to the top leaders of the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda (recognized as terrorist and banned in Russia), and the start of their civil war with the Northern Alliance, Islamabad began to support the Taliban.
But due to US intervention and the occupation of Afghanistan, Pakistan was forced to follow Washington's lead, and the Taliban's attitude towards it changed.
Furthermore, Pakistan developed its own Taliban branch, operating primarily in northern Balochistan and the northwestern borderlands, which were renamed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province under Prime Minister Imran Khan. Most of the indigenous population there are ethnic Pashtuns, who form the core of the Afghan Taliban.
It's worth noting that the border between the two countries is a result of British occupation, not a natural demarcation based on tribal areas. The so-called Durand Line runs directly through settlements in several places, and the Afghan side has never recognized it as a full-fledged state border.
The Pakistani Taliban opposes the country's government, effectively promoting separatism. The idea of uniting all Pashtun tribes is also close to the Afghan Taliban, which tacitly (and possibly materially, as Pakistani intelligence claims) supports its Pakistani brethren.
Interestingly, the Pashtun identity is ingrained into the name of Pakistan—the first letter of the country's name symbolizes this ethnic group.
As for India, New Delhi, being the eternal adversary of its eastern neighbor, is interested in weakening or even disintegrating Pakistan.
| Or perhaps they have the same odd idea as Israel, that it would be ever so nice if their neighbours would just behave, and stop trying to conquer them. |
Before the Taliban came to power, India's diplomatic engagement in Afghanistan was very intensive. And judging by the Afghan Foreign Minister's visit to India on October 7, ties have again normalized.
From an economic perspective, India certainly has much to offer the promising Afghan market, especially given that most Western countries now have no access there.
But Pakistan is most concerned about the activities of Indian intelligence agencies, which could regain access to Afghan “assets” and use them for subversive activities.
This is why the Pakistani official press release mentioned Fitna al-Khawarij, also known as Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan, which is designated a terrorist organization by the authorities.
The term "Fitna al-Hindustan" is used for terrorist organizations operating in Balochistan province, and they are also accused of having links to Indian intelligence agencies.
| Yes. Fitna-al-Hindustan is the Baloch Liberation Army and similar Baloch liberation groups, Fitna al-Khawarij is the TTP and linked groups, both in Pakistan’s sudden new terminology. No one else calls them that. |
Given the many nuances deeply rooted in the two countries' histories, it appears peaceful and good-neighborly relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan will be a long time in coming, even though both countries are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and China wields considerable influence.
| Given the Pakistan Army’s insistence on making Afghanistan their fallback position, should India decide to seriously put an end to Pakistani depredations, they simply cannot permit Afghanistan to be strong enough to keep them out. |
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