This is a quote from Pakistan’s ‘defence minister’ from a couple of hours ago. There is a shooting war on the Durand line, and the PAF has bombed Kabul and Kandahar, including the airport, Taliban ministry buildings and other non-military targets.
This round of AfPak hostilities kicked off with a ‘surgical airstrike’ by Pakistan into Afghanistan that resulted in multiple civilian deaths. The Taliban retaliated by attacking Pakistani border outposts on the Durand Line, and claim to have captured more than a dozen of them, with Pakistani POWs and KIA. In response, the PAF has now bombed Kabul and Kandahar.
The Taliban, the erstwhile creation of the ISI, is now at war with Pakistan. Where does this go from here?
two erm threads on the same topic.
That is Kabir’s though.
I wrote up mine quite a while earlier, but it was stuck in “pending review”.
yes because I need to make you Author again, are you happy to take the pledge. It’s what I’m insisting on ALL Authors.
Sure, fine with it. As I pointed out earlier, I was already following it in spirit.
thank you 🙂 | all done and I know you were already following it.
just Sbarrkum left to take the pledge
just Sbarrkum left to take the pledge
I dont take pledges. Never in my life.
Never belonged to a cult or religion.
The Taliban, the erstwhile creation of the ISI, is now at war with Pakistan.
Not quite
Jimmy Carter and his National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski armed mujaheddin (jihadists) who would later become the Taliban, Al Qaeda and ISIS.
This was a proxy war against the Soviets who were also an occupying Army, no different from the US occupation.
For over forty years Afghanistan has been a humanitarian disaster. Between 562,000 and 2,000,000 civilians were killed and millions of Afghans fled the country as refugees
Carters Afghan war lead to the destruction of that developing nation. Afghan women were launched back into the future of the 13th century, and the war killed over a million Afghan men, women and children.
Carters chickens hatched into the attacks on the U.S. of September 11, 2001 (9/11)
The Soviets should not have been occupying Afghanistan, Neither should the US.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Cyclone
The other side of the story
“After the withdrawal of NATO forces, it was expected that there would be peace in Afghanistan and that the Taliban would focus on the interests of the Afghan people and peace in the region,” Asif said. “However, the Taliban turned Afghanistan into a colony of India. They gathered all the terrorists of the world in Afghanistan and began exporting terrorism.”
“Pakistan made every effort to keep the situation normal through direct means and through friendly countries. It engaged in full-fledged diplomacy. But the Taliban became a proxy for India,” he alleged.
https://www.rt.com/india/633106-afghanistan-has-become-indian-colony/
Pakistan lacks credibility on this topic.
Credible because India has a history of supporting terrorism
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AfPakIran need to be a free trade zone of capital, goods and people. The Persianate sphere
That would be instantly viable, however, like many potential pathways to progress, this does not align with the incentives for the Pakistani Military. They would have concede the power and $$$ they currently hold. When choosing between what’s good for Pakistan and Pakistanis, vs what’s good for the PakMil Senior Chiefs, the historical track record is quite consistent.
Jindabad AfPakIran!
Afghanistan will strike back asymmetrically – drones and terror attacks.
They already did – Drone attacks, multiple spots in Pakistan, including Islamabad of all places.
Pak bans all drones in airspace in response to the risk.
Somewhat unrelated, but figured this is best shared under an open thread, not sure if it needs its own post.
https://x.com/AmitMajmudar/status/2027221885348376691
Apparently an ‘officially’ released ISPR video that describes Afghans as ‘not knowing much more than how to operate a tandoor’.
https://x.com/aliaftabsaeed/status/2027300389268443610
A Pakistani military spokesman has said that 274 Taliban fighters have been killed and more than 400 injured by Pakistani strikes, adding that 74 Taliban posts were destroyed and 18 captured – and counting.
The Taliban for its part has said that 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed and 19 posts seized. Kabul have acknowledged Taliban fighters killed, 11 wounded, and 13 civilians injured in the mountainous northwest border region where the line of fighting is concentrated.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/pakistan-declared-all-out-war-against-afghanistan-hundreds-dead-overnight-clashes
yes the Taliban will be trounced by Pakistan.
people forget that the Pakistani army is actually improving by so much war (India, BLA, Taliban). it’s in a state of operational readiness.
also huge consolidation in the Pakistani population. for instance Pathans are VERY integrated.
so r the Baluch; almost 30-50% of Sindhi Muslims are Baluch tribes (Zardari = Sardari). Sindh was basically their fertile province to move into; like Punjab was for Pathans
Pakistan is orders of magnitude a stronger military force than Afghanistan. The challenge is not in ‘beating’ Afghanistan in a conflict. The problem here is going to be a re-opening of the Durand Line as a conflict frontier with Afghanistan.
I cannot pretend to speak with any level of knowledge or authority beyond the superficial bits and that too from a distance, regarding the levels of ‘integration’ regarding the Pukhtoons and Pakistan. But the existence of PTM and the interwoven lives of those living along the Durand line are undeniable.
Nobody is predicting a ‘defeat’ of the still reasonably competent Pakistani military, but this is a non-trivial challenge that has opened up for Pakistan, and one that isn’t going to be solved easily or quickly.
Did Zardari do that thoos-thoos dance from Dhurandhar?
Lolol I did it!!!!
Taliban can’t defeat Pak in outright war but via asymmetrical warfare impose a cost on Pakistan which will lead to further economic stagnation which will lead to India peeling away even faster.
Admin Note: Edited as it sounds “gleeful” rather than High Signal.
“Pakistan will finally know what ‘death by a thousand cuts” looks like–
@XTM: This is anti-Pakistan language. It goes against the spirit of the pledge.
If I can’t gleefully fantasize about India’s “death by a thousand cuts”, No one should be allowed to fantasize about this when it comes to Pakistan.
Wasn’t Deaths a thousand cuts a Pakistani strategy for India?
I agree the term is provocative but I want to learn about it before I decide
It’s a Taylor Swift song but also- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleed_India_with_a_Thousand_Cuts
This was a high signal post though.
This was Pak’s strategy towards India (referenced in Dhurandhar also) but looks like Pakistan is facing it.
There was no “glee”. Just a fact.
you can be sensitive in how you write it. It can be high signal and not gleeful at the same time. Kabir is right that I would edit out if he was gloating / gleeful. Fair is fair..
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No need for this
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I think the point is that that phrase if used with respect to India would have led to immediate deletion.
Taking pleasure in Pakistan’s pain is just trolling at this point. It doesn’t add anything substantive to the conversation.
The answer defies the binary expectations of traditional military alliances. China is unlikely to dispatch troops or engage directly in any conflict, but to interpret this as passivity would be to misread the nature of 21st-century great power competition. China’s support for Iran is real, multifaceted, and in some ways more sustainable than military intervention; it just operates on a different strategic wavelength.
potent weapon: the veto-wielding power of principle. In an emergency meeting last month, Chinese Ambassador Sun Lei delivered a stark message to Washington: “The use of force can never solve problems. It will only make them more complex and intractable. Any military adventurism would only push the region toward an unpredictable abyss.
This is not empty rhetoric. China’s official position explicitly supports “safeguarding Iran’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity”, while opposing “the threat or use of force in international relations”.
Perhaps China’s most consequential support remains invisible on the battlefield, but visible in Iran’s national accounts. Despite US sanctions and pressure, China remains Iran’s top energy partner, with approximately 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports now directed to Chinese buyers.
For those asking whether China will “rescue” Iran, the answer depends on definition. If rescue means troops and battleships, the answer is no. If rescue means ensuring that Iran can survive, resist, and eventually negotiate from strength, the answer is quietly, persistently and strategically yes.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/will-china-come-irans-rescue
Yes but then China might be too subtle.
big ol’ word salad amounting to a whole lotta nothin’
Time for the masoom farebi to enjoy the afghan jalebi 🙂
nur khan should be better protected. even taliban are hitting it.