ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military spokesperson has warned Afghanistan that trade and cross-border militancy “cannot go together,” accusing the Taliban-led government in Kabul of facilitating militant attacks in Pakistan. 

Pakistan closed all border crossings with Afghanistan on Oct. 12 following deadly clashes between the two states in which both sides claimed to have killed dozens of troops. Tensions between the neighbors persisted and reached a boiling point this week after Kabul accused Islamabad of conducting airstrikes inside its territory that killed 10 civilians. Pakistan’s military rejected the allegations as Kabul vowed it would retaliate at a time of its choosing. 

Pakistan’s army and civilian government accuse Kabul of facilitating cross-border attacks by extremist groups such as the Pakistani Taliban or the TTP. Kabul denies the allegations and says Pakistan’s security challenges are its internal problem. 

Pakistan’s military spokesperson Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif Chaudhry briefed journalists on Islamabad’s tensions with Kabul, border management with Afghanistan, India and the repatriation of illegal residents in Pakistan this Tuesday. 

“If we have restricted trade, it is not because we have a problem with trade itself. Our concern is that we say our security becomes paramount, our lives are more important,” Chaudhry told reporters in the briefing which was released by the military on Saturday. 

“Blood and business cannot go together.”

Chaudhry said since Nov. 4, Pakistan’s security forces have conducted 4,910 intelligence-based operations and killed 206 “terrorists.” He said a total of 1,873 “terrorists” were killed this year, which included 136 Afghan nationals. 

Chaudhry said 67,023 intelligence-based operations were conducted across Pakistan this year, out of which the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province saw 12,857 and southwestern Balochistan witnessed 53,309 operations.

The military spokesperson rejected criticism that Pakistani security forces stationed alongside the border with Afghanistan had failed to contain smuggling and infiltration of militants. 

Chaudhry said the Pakistan-Afghanistan border terrain is located at an “extremely rugged and tough terrain.” He said the border located in KP province stretches over 1,229 kilometers with 20 crossing points, adding that border posts are located at a distance of 20–25 kilometers apart from each other.

“A border fence alone cannot be effective unless it is covered by observation and firepower,” he said. “Building forts every two to five kilometers and monitoring them via drone surveillance would require massive resources.”

He said controlling the movement of people from the border areas of both countries was a “major challenge” as there were villages on both sides of the countries, causing people to travel frequently between them. 

Chaudhry reiterated Islamabad’s oft-stated stance, urging Afghanistan to stop militants based in its country from carrying out attacks against Pakistan. 

“The Taliban regime has nurtured non-state actors, posing threats to multiple countries in the region,” he said.

“Pakistan demands that the Afghan Taliban behave like a proper state.”