A FEW hundred — instigated or misguided — Afghans committed sacrilege. They shouted insults and burnt a Pakistani flag on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border at Chaman. Pakistan’s response to the insult was civilised and firm. The border was closed till an Afghan apology in writing was given for the incident.

I would like to remind the Afghans that there is a limit to Pakistan’s patience and magnanimity. For more than 36 years Pakistanis have opened their hearts and homes to three million plus Afghan refugees in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

For nearly seven decades Pakistan has tolerated Afghan perfidy while Kabul repeatedly stabbed Pakistan in the back countless times since 1947.

Afghanistan is once again cooking mischief in cahoots with our sworn enemy to disrupt the prosperity that will ensue once CPEC becomes operational. Let Kabul know that Pakistan knows how to deal with aggressors and their abettors. Sanity should prevail because the Afghans stand to lose much in this confrontation.

Shahab Atta

District Panjgoor

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2016