Pakistan not seeking escalation with Afghanistan — analyst

Pakistan does not seek to escalate tensions with Afghanistan but will fully defend its territory if necessary, Pakistani political analyst Basim Raza told Report.

"Our point is to just show our capabilities that we can defend ourselves and exhibit to the striking entity, whoever that may be, that may be India, Afghanistan, or any other state, that we can defend ourselves and we can inflict damage on them as well. So it's better not to we can all go about such coercive acts or such attacks. So the core idea is to de-escalate as soon as possible," he said.

Raza recalled that during last year's clashes with India, repeated crises with Afghanistan, Pakistan consistently advocated de-escalation.

He argued that Kabul lacks sufficient resources to further escalate the conflict with Islamabad.

"Afghans, they have a very good guerrilla warfare capacity, which we have seen over time since 1979. But they do not have the capacity to fight a conventional war with any regional state, let alone a military giant like Pakistan. So, what would happen is very simple and very clear. The Afghans will exhaust their resources and their strengths and there will be a ceasefire very soon. That is a very objective thing," he said.

According to Raza, during talks held in Doha and Istanbul between Pakistan and representatives of Tehrik-i-Taliban Afghanistan, which he described as the de facto authorities in Afghanistan, the Afghan side denied links with Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and suggested Islamabad negotiate directly with the Pakistani branch of the group.

"Initially, Pakistan believed that since the TTP operates from Afghan territory, the Afghan Taliban bore responsibility," the expert said. He added that in the latest clashes, TTA and TTP appeared to act as a united front against Pakistan, which in his view gives Islamabad diplomatic leverage.

Raza also noted that because attacks on Pakistani territory were launched from Afghanistan, Islamabad repeatedly urged Kabul to take action, but no steps followed.

"Pakistan has been respecting Afghanistan's territorial integrity and sovereignty and repeatedly requested measures against terrorists operating from their lands. However, no action was taken," he said.

Asked about the potential use of force, Raza said Islamabad may now resort to it following recent border developments.

"Now that they have effectively acted as a united front with the TTP against Pakistan, Islamabad believes it has the full right to use force without obstacles," he concluded.