WITH Operation Ghazab lil Haq underway for over a week now, Pakistan has demonstrated that it can take firm action against unprovoked attacks by the Afghan Taliban as well as the support bases of TTP terrorists on Afghan soil. The kinetic action has brought down terrorist attacks in the country, which were occurring with alarming regularity before Pakistan confronted the cross-border threat. Now, with deterrence established, policymakers in Islamabad should consider how the battlefield successes can transition to a diplomatic solution to this long-standing problem. In this regard, a senior security official briefing KP-based journalists has said that the regime in Kabul was well aware of Pakistan’s demands — stopping cross-border terrorism by the TTP and other violent actors — and what was needed were “verifiable steps” to make any ceasefire work.

It should be remembered that there have been negotiations aplenty between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban. But each effort has failed because Kabul has refused to give written guarantees that it will prevent terrorists from attacking Pakistan. Instead, the Taliban have disingenuously said that terrorism was “Pakistan’s problem”. While that may be so, Afghanistan has aggravated the problem by giving a safe haven to bloodthirsty elements that have wreaked major havoc in this country. Yet considering the combustible situation in the region, an off-ramp is essential as Pakistan must be ready for all contingencies in case matters in the Middle East spiral further out of control. In this regard, two hot borders in the west and a hostile India on the east are reason for concern. It is indeed true that Pakistan has reiterated its demands to Kabul countless times. But perhaps after the latest hostilities the Afghan Taliban may be willing to reconsider their stubborn approach. The usual mediators — Saudi Araba, Qatar, Turkiye — are preoccupied with conflict in their own region. However, Russia has called for resolving the Pak-Afghan imbroglio through dialogue, while China, as a “neighbour and friend” to both states, has said it stands ready to play “a constructive role for de-escalation”. Perhaps Pakistan should use these regional friends as a conduit to Kabul, in order to resend the message that once cross-border terrorism and support for banned groups stops, hostilities can cease and a normal relationship be resumed with Afghanistan. The onus will be on the Taliban to prove their desire for peace.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2026