Web Desk: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the country had hosted Afghans for decades but accused Afghan nationals of being disproportionately involved in attacks against Pakistani civilians and security forces.
In a statement, Asif said Pakistan had provided shelter and access to its resources to Afghans for about five decades, despite having limited resources of its own.
He said Islamabad had hoped that the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan would lead to a more secure border and improved relations between the two neighbouring countries.
“Instead, the situation has remained difficult,” Asif said, arguing that attacks on mosques, schools, markets and security personnel in Pakistan were frequently linked to militants coming from Afghanistan.
The defence minister also accused elements in Afghanistan of aligning themselves with Pakistan’s longtime rival, India.
Asif said Pakistani military and civilian authorities had maintained both direct and indirect contacts with Afghan officials in an effort to address security concerns. However, he said those efforts had not produced a reduction in what he described as hostility toward Pakistan.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused militants operating from Afghan territory of carrying out attacks inside the country. Afghanistan has rejected accusations that it allows its territory to be used against Pakistan, while tensions between the two neighbours have intensified in recent years. Reuters has reported that the two sides have engaged in increasingly serious military confrontation and negotiations over militant activity.
Asif also criticised Pakistani students who have expressed solidarity with Afghan students, arguing that such support reflected political preferences rather than humanitarian concerns.
His comments come amid an ongoing dispute over the status of Afghan students studying in Pakistan.
The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council issued a directive earlier this month requiring previously enrolled Afghan medical and dental students to return to Afghanistan and barring institutions from admitting Afghan students during the current academic session. The Lahore High Court has since suspended the directive while it considers petitions filed by affected students.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office has said the policy does not amount to a blanket expulsion of Afghan students. It said students who hold valid visas and are enrolled in recognised programmes can continue their education, while cases involving expired documentation or completed programmes may be treated differently.
Asif urged Pakistani students supporting Afghan students to consider the security consequences of Afghanistan-Pakistan tensions.
He said political disagreements should not lead Pakistanis to disregard the deaths of civilians and security personnel in attacks that Pakistani authorities attribute to militants linked to Afghanistan.
The minister also argued that decades of hosting Afghan refugees had failed to produce the change in attitudes toward Pakistan that Islamabad had hoped for.
His remarks reflect the increasingly strained relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with security, cross-border militancy, refugee repatriation and the treatment of Afghan nationals all becoming intertwined in the dispute.
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