ABP Exclusive | Afghan Taliban Leader Brands Pakistan A ‘Mercenary State’ After Deadly Border Escalation

Afghanistan launched a blistering attack on Pakistan’s military, describing it as a “mercenary in every war” and accusing it of targeting Afghan civilians to mask its own failures as cross-border tensions escalate in the region. 

In an exclusive interview with ABP News, Qari Saeed Khoshti, Director at the Ministry of Culture of the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan, alleged that Pakistan’s army has “never won a single conflict” and routinely suffers setbacks against India. He claimed that Islamabad is now directing its firepower at Afghan civilians in an attempt to divert attention from its military shortcomings.

His remarks come after Afghan forces reportedly carried out overnight attacks on multiple Pakistani military posts, killing more than 55 Pakistani soldiers. Khoshti described the strikes as a direct response to what he called a Pakistani airstrike on Afghan civilians on 22 February.

“This retaliation will continue until full justice is achieved,” he told ABP News.

Cross-Border Raids and Prisoners Captured

According to Khoshti, Afghan forces launched coordinated operations against several Pakistani military positions at 8 pm local time. By midnight, he claimed, between 18 and 20 checkpoints had been destroyed.

He further alleged that Pakistani soldiers, faced with the assault, abandoned their posts and fled. Afghan troops, he said, crossed the Durand Line, which he referred to as a “fabricated boundary”, and took several Pakistani soldiers into custody.

The Durand Line has long been a flashpoint between the two neighbours, fuelling decades of mistrust and sporadic violence.

Civilian Casualties and Airstrike Allegations

Khoshti accused Pakistan of conducting repeated airstrikes inside Afghanistan since September, claiming that 88 Afghan civilians have been killed during that period.

“If Pakistan has a problem with us, it should fight our military. Targeting civilians is not bravery,” he said.

He argued that Pakistan’s history of military setbacks, particularly in conflicts with India, explains what he characterised as its preference for striking “defenceless people rather than confronting armed forces”.

“A country established in the name of Islam only attacks other Muslim nations,” he added.

Criticism of Pakistan’s Military Leadership

Khoshti also levelled personal criticism at Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Staff, Field Marshal Asim Munir. He alleged that Munir is acting under the influence of the United States and Western powers, describing the ongoing hostilities as a “mercenary war” against Afghanistan.

He further claimed that Munir previously used military action to secure passage of the 27th constitutional amendment and is now backing Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) to destabilise the region and consolidate power.

In a fresh allegation, Khoshti asserted that Pakistani military officials have established a joint command structure with Lashkar-e-Taiba and ISKP to create instability in Afghanistan and India. He said the Afghan government has repeatedly provided evidence that Pakistan shelters militant groups, but Islamabad continues to deny responsibility.

Rejecting Claims of Militant Infiltration

Responding to Pakistani claims that Afghanistan harbours Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) fighters who infiltrate across the border, Khoshti dismissed the accusations as baseless.

“The claim of infiltration is far from reality,” he said. “There is a border fence between Afghanistan and Pakistan, so how is it possible for BLA or TTP fighters to infiltrate Pakistan and go deep into Islamabad or Rawalpindi to carry out attacks?”

He accused Pakistan of shifting blame onto Afghanistan to conceal its own security failures.

Internal Unrest and Regional Fallout

Khoshti maintained that violence in Pakistan’s Pashtun and Baloch regions stems from internal policy failures rather than external interference. He described Pakistan’s domestic approach as a “mercenary war” against its own Pashtun and Baloch populations, arguing that such policies fuel resistance movements including TTP and BLA.

In his closing remarks, the senior official insisted that Pakistan must take responsibility for terrorism within its borders instead of blaming Afghanistan.