Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has warned Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers that if they wished to test Islamabad’s resolve and capabilities, they should do so “at your own peril and doom”, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
In a lengthy but harsh post upload on X platform on Wednesday, Khawaja Asif maintained “If the Taliban regime wants to fight us, the world will Insha’Allah see that their threats are only performative circus!”
The defence minister said on the request of brotherly countries who were persistently being beseeched by Taliban regime, Pakistan opted for talks to give peace a chance, but venomous statements by certain Afghan officials clearly reflect the devious and splintered mindset of the Taliban regime.”
“Let me assure them that Pakistan does not require to employ even a fraction of its full arsenal to completely obliterate the Taliban regime and push them back into the caves for hiding,” he said and added “If they wish so, the repeat of the scenes of their rout at Tora Bora with their tails between the legs would surely be a spectacle to watch for the people of the region.”
Khawaja Asif said “It is sad to see how the Taliban regime is blindly pushing Afghanistan into yet another conflict, just to retain its usurped rule and maintain the war economy that sustains them. Despite fully knowing their inherent limitations and hollowness of their war cries, they are beating the war drums to maintain their crumbling facade.”
The defence minister said “If the Afghan Taliban regime is madly hellbent upon ruining Afghanistan and its innocent people once again then so be it.”
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“As far as the narrative of ‘graveyard of empires’ is concerned, Pakistan certainly doesn’t claim itself to be an empire but Afghanistan is definitely a graveyard, surely for its own people due to the Taliban. Never a graveyard of empires but certainly a playground of empires you have been throughout history,” he said and added “The war-mongers amongst the Taliban regime, who have vested interests in the continuation of instability in the region, should know that they have probably misread our resolve and courage. If the Taliban regime wants to fight us, the world will INSHAALLAH see that their threats are only performative circus!”
Khawaja Asif further said “We have borne your treachery and mockery for too long, but not anymore. Any terrorist attack or any suicide bombing inside Pakistan shall give you the bitter taste of such misadventures. Be rest assured and test our resolve and capabilities, if you wish so, at your own peril and doom.”