Is Pakistan attacking Afghanistan to escape the Mecca Defense Pact? The Taliban makes big claims — what’s behind it | Today’s news
The Taliban claimed that Pakistan was attacking Afghanistan to avoid its obligations under a recently signed defense agreement, the Mecca Defense Pact, as Saudi Arabia faces increased security risks following attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed that Pakistan is deliberately portraying the situation as a conflict with Afghanistan to avoid its obligations under the Makkah Joint Defense Agreement signed with Saudi Arabia and Turkey, CNN-News18 reported.
“Pakistan’s recent attacks on Afghanistan were carried out to escape the Mecca agreement with Saudi Arabia while portraying the situation as if Pakistan is involved in the war in Afghanistan,” Mujahid said, according to CNN-News18.
Why is Pakistan attacking Afghanistan?
Pakistan said it had carried out strikes against identified military targets in Afghanistan, while Kabul accused Islamabad of targeting Afghan territory and civilians.
Pakistan claimed to have foiled an “attempted Afghan aggression” along the Pakistan-Afghan border, according to Reuters.
Pakistani security sources said several Taliban members were killed in a gunfight in the Gulistan region of the border on Friday, with fighting continuing.
The escalation follows a period of relative calm between the two sides. Tensions have resurfaced after a recent militant attack on a police facility in northwest Pakistan that killed at least 24 people.
Read also | Afghanistan Says Pakistan Airstrikes Kill 3: Why Tensions Are Rising Again
Meanwhile, the Afghan Taliban government said Pakistani airstrikes killed four civilians.
How does the Mecca Defense Pact fit into this?
Mujahid’s accusation comes against the backdrop of the Mecca Mutual Defense Agreement, which was signed by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey on August 7 in Mecca.
Under the agreement, an armed attack against any of the three countries is considered an attack against all three.
The pact’s language has been compared to NATO’s Article 5, which states that an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against the alliance.
The conflict along the Durand Line comes as Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement escalate attacks on each other, ending a period of relative calm following a 2022 UN-brokered ceasefire.
Earlier, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif suggested that the defense pact could be operational if Saudi Arabia faces “unprovoked aggression” or if the conflict in Yemen spills over into Saudi territory, Geo News reports.
In a flip-flop, Islamabad later tried to narrow expectations.
On September 10, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman Sajjad Haider Khan said that no military response was being discussed in connection with the Houthi attacks.
What is Pakistan’s problem with TTP?
Pakistan’s confrontation with the Taliban government is rooted in its long-standing allegations that militants operating from Afghanistan are responsible for attacks inside Pakistan.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused Kabul of giving space to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups. The Taliban government denies the allegations and says militancy inside Pakistan is an internal matter.
The emergence of the TTP was closely related to the aftermath of the US-led war in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s military operations in its tribal areas, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
