Afghanistan interior minister's stark warning to Pakistan amid cross-border airstrikes: 'No trace will be left'

Sirajuddin Haqqani (Image: X)

Afghanistan interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani has issued a sharp warning to Pakistan amid rising cross-border hostilities between the two neighbours.

In a video surfaced online, Haqqani can be heard saying that “there will be no trace of Pakistan left” if Taliban’s senior leadership, whom he referred to as “our elders”, decided to act.

The comments from Haqqani, a key member in the Taliban administration, were made during a public speech that was widely shared on social media.

Friction between Pakistan and Afghanistan has endured since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Pakistan has consistently charged that the Taliban harbours the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), responsible for multiple attacks on Pakistani soil. The Taliban administration has dismissed these allegations and urged Pakistan to address its own internal security challenges.

The United Nations on Monday said that at least 13 civilians were killed and seven injured in Pakistani airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan, as tensions flared following multiple suicide attacks in Pakistan.

The toll has intensified fears of escalating reprisals between the neighbouring countries, threatening a delicate ceasefire along their 2,600-km border and worsening diplomatic strains amid mutual recriminations over militant activity.

According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, “credible reports” indicate that Pakistani air raids carried out overnight on February 21–22 left 13 civilians dead and seven injured in Nangarhar province’s Behsud and Khogyani districts, Reuters reported.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid earlier reported dozens killed or wounded in the strikes, which also hit locations in Paktika province.

Pakistan said it launched the strikes after blaming recent suicide attacks, including during Ramadan, on militants operating from Afghan territory.

Pakistan's information ministry in a post on X said the "intelligence-based" operation struck seven camps of the Pakistani Taliban and Islamic State Khorasan Province and that it had "conclusive evidence" the militant assaults on Pakistan were directed by "Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers."