‘We paid the price for your survival’: Former Afghan MP slams Pak’s Khawaja Asif over ‘India’s proxy war’ remark

Pakistan Afghanistan border clash

Pakistan and Afghanistan’s tensions have escalated beyond the border, spilling over to online platforms where both sides have traded sharp accusations.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, on Ocatober 16, accused the Taliban of waging what he described as “India’s proxy war.”

His remarks triggered strong responses from the Afghan side. Former Afghan MP Mariam Solaimankhil hit back on social media, saying, “Enough with the victim act. Pakistan didn’t ‘host’ Afghans — it milked them for billions, global relevance, cheap labour and geopolitical leverage. Afghans paid the bill for your survival.”

Meanwhile, on Friday, Pakistan launched airstrikes inside Afghan territory, killing at least 10 people and ending a brief ceasefire that had brought two days of calm to the volatile border region.

The Taliban government confirmed on Saturday that it would hold talks with Pakistan in Qatar, a day after the fragile truce meant to restore peace was violated.

The escalating diplomatic and online exchanges highlight how hostilities between the two neighbours have extended beyond the battlefield, even as diplomatic efforts for dialogue continue in Doha.

As a fragile ceasefire holds between Afghanistan and Pakistan following a week of heavy border fighting, social media has become the latest battleground, this time centered around the number “93,000.” What started as a reference to Pakistan’s 1971 military surrender to India has turned into a viral meme mocking Islamabad’s recent clashes with the Taliban.

Afghanistan-based journalist Wakeel Mubariz posted on X, “Today was the day of 93,000 pants ceremony 2.0,” alluding to Pakistan’s 1971 surrender. Indian military veteran Lt Gen (Retd) Kanwal Jeet Singh Dhillon also joined in, saying, “93,000 was always a favourite number.”

Videos circulating online showed Afghan fighters celebrating what they described as a victory over Pakistan. Some footage appeared to show Taliban forces parading with captured Pakistani tanks and weapons near the border, while others depicted fighters holding up trousers allegedly left behind by Pakistani soldiers who had retreated during the clashes.

Afghan journalist Daud Junbish shared one such video on X, writing: “‘Empty trousers’, recovered from abandoned military posts of the Pakistani army near Durand Line displayed in eastern Nangrahar province, Afghanistan.”

At least 10 people were killed in fresh airstrikes in Afghanistan’s Paktika province, Taliban officials said, accusing Pakistan of targeting three locations in the area. Among the dead were three local Afghan cricketers from Urgun district, according to the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), which has since announced the withdrawal of its national team from next month’s T20 tri-series in Pakistan in protest.

The strikes, which reportedly hit residential areas in the Argun and Barmal districts, came despite a 48-hour ceasefire that was meant to ease tensions after a week of deadly border clashes. Pakistan’s state broadcaster later announced that Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and intelligence chief General Asim Malik would travel to Doha for talks with the Taliban government.

Islamabad has called for the truce to be extended until the conclusion of the Doha negotiations, while Kabul confirmed that its delegation, led by Defence Minister Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, would depart for Qatar on Saturday.