Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said Islamabad did not want an “armed conflict” with Afghanistan, days after Pakistan Air Force planes carried out airstrikes against terrorists in the border areas of neighboring Khost and Paktika.

“Force is the last resort. We do not want an armed conflict with Afghanistan,” he said, warning that Pakistan could block the corridors it provides Afghanistan for trade with India.

“A message needs to be sent that this [cross-border terrorism] “We have grown too much,” Asif said in an interview with Voice of America on Wednesday, Dawn newspaper reported.

Commenting on the Pakistani air strikes, he said Pakistan wanted to send a message to the Afghan interim government in Kabul: “We cannot continue like this.”

Pakistan on Monday launched an intelligence-based operation targeting the Taliban’s Hafiz Gul Bahadur group over the March 16 attack in Mir Ali, North Waziristan, as well as numerous incidents in the country. responsible for terrorist attacks.

Islamabad’s action follows a deadly attack on Pakistani troops that left seven soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel and a captain, dead.

Asif warned that Islamabad could block the corridor it provides for Afghanistan to trade with India. The defense minister asserted that Pakistan has the right to stop facilitating Kabul if it fails to contain anti-Pakistani terrorists operating from Afghan soil.

“If Afghanistan considers us an enemy, then why should we give them a trade corridor?” he asked.

Pakistan has repeatedly called on Afghanistan’s interim government to prevent its territory from being used by the TTP and other armed groups against Pakistan, but Kabul has denied this.

Recalling the visit of a high-level delegation he led to Kabul in February 2023, Asif said he told Taliban ministers not to let past “favors” from the militant Taliban in Pakistan (TTP) tie Kabul’s hands.

“if they [TTP] Do you a favor, you appreciate them, and then control them. “Don’t let them start a war with us while you are living in your country and you become their ally,” he was quoted as saying by Voice of America.

“If they can hurt us, then we will be forced to [retaliate]”, he expressed the hope that Afghanistan can control the TTP.

Asif claimed that Kabul allowed the TTP to take action against Pakistan to prevent its members from joining the local chapter of the militant Islamic State group, known as the Islamic Khorasan Chapter.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif claimed on Wednesday that his government would not tolerate any act of cross-border terrorism and that his country wanted to live in peace with all its neighbours.

Speaking at the first meeting of the Supreme Council since the new government came to power earlier this month, Shahbaz said Pakistan wanted peace with all its neighbours. The Supreme Council is the highest official civil-military body responsible for resolving militancy issues.

“We want to live in a very peaceful environment with our neighboring brothers – to trade, commerce and expand our relationships – but unfortunately it cannot be tolerated if a neighboring country’s land is used for terrorism ,” he said.

The Prime Minister also hopes that “our neighbors will seriously consider my invitation.”

Terrorism incidents in Pakistan have increased since the Taliban took over the government in Kabul in 2021, dashing Islamabad’s hopes that an Afghan-friendly government would help resolve militancy.

According to the annual security report released by the think tank Center for Research and Security Studies, 789 terrorist attacks and counter-terrorism operations occurred in Pakistan in 2023, resulting in 1,524 violent deaths and 1,463 injuries, a six-year high.