Pakistan Defense Minister Orders Afghan Refugees to Leave as Tensions Escalate with India Connection

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has heightened tensions by drawing connections between India and Islamabad's ongoing dispute with Afghanistan. In a significant escalation, Asif announced the termination of relations with Afghanistan and demanded all Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan to return to their homeland.

These remarks came as the previously established 48-hour ceasefire reached its conclusion at 6 pm local time. According to media sources, the truce was extended as representatives from both nations were scheduled to convene in Doha, Qatar, seeking resolution to the current crisis.

"There will be no more protest notes or peace appeals; no delegations will travel to Kabul. The source of terrorism, wherever it may be, will face severe consequences," Asif declared in a statement on X.

He claimed that Kabul has become "India's proxy" and is conspiring against Pakistan in collaboration with New Delhi and the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

"The current Kabul leadership, now aligned with India and plotting against Pakistan, once sought our protection and shelter on our territory," he asserted, stating that Islamabad "can no longer maintain relations with Kabul as in the past."

These unprovoked comments followed Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's recent six-day visit to India, despite the trip being officially focused on trade and bilateral relations.

"All Afghans living on Pakistani soil must return to their homeland; they now have their own government/caliphate in Kabul... Our land and resources belong to 250 million Pakistanis... Self-respecting nations do not depend on foreign territories and resources... Now they have established their government [or] caliphate in Kabul. Five years have passed since the Islamic revolution... they must engage with Pakistan as neighbors," he stated.

Asif maintained that Pakistan was prepared and capable of defending itself against any further aggression from Kabul, noting that despite Islamabad's "efforts and sacrifices over five years," Kabul has shown no positive response.

"Pakistan has issued 836 protest notes to Afghanistan and an additional 13 demarches," he revealed.

Kabul has reported that Pakistan conducted airstrikes within Afghanistan late Friday, resulting in at least 8 fatalities and violating the ceasefire that had brought two days of calm to the border. The Afghanistan Cricket Board announced that three players participating in a regional tournament were killed in the attack.

The cricket board also stated its withdrawal from the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I Series involving Pakistan, planned for next month.

The 48-hour truce had temporarily halted nearly a week of violent border clashes that caused dozens of casualties among troops and civilians on both sides.

A senior Pakistani security official informed news agency AFP that forces had "conducted precision aerial strikes" in Afghan border regions targeting the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, a local faction associated with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)—the Pakistani Taliban.

Islamabad claimed that this same group was responsible for a suicide bombing and armed attack at a military facility in North Waziristan district bordering Afghanistan, which resulted in seven Pakistani paramilitary soldiers' deaths.