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| Screengrab of the viral video |
Kabul: A number of new videos have surfaced on social media showing the members of the Taliban destroying the border signs along the Durand Line in Wakhan and Badakhshan, a media report said amid the rising tension over the border dispute.
In another video, one person can be heard saying Pakistan is apparently trying to capture the only source of water in the region, TOLOnews reported without confirming the exact recording time and location of these videos.
The ties between Taliban-led Afghanistan and Pakistan have been frosty of late and matters have been exacerbated by recent border tensions. These videos have emerged amid an ongoing standoff on the border between the Baluchistan and Nimroz Provinces of the two countries.
“Both sides refused to move from their respective positions and the Taliban commander of Zakir Camp Qari Hamidullah informed the Pakistan Army that he was under instructions not to negotiate and demanded the removal of poles intended for fencing on the Durand Line,” said Toronto-based think tank International Forum For Rights And Security (IFFRAS).
Remember the light weapons left by US in Afghan is used by TTP against Pakistan. This is why, when US left, i said to wait and watch. India never left Taliban
— #Bharat-Ek VishwaGuru🇮🇳 (@EkVishwa) July 27, 2022
“This event is the latest in a series of incidents on the border. In response, Pakistan refused to remove the poles and also threatened to destroy Zakir Camp if Afghanistan maintained an aggressive posture,” it added.
Earlier this month, Taliban-appointed Afghan Defence Minister said that the country will not allow any other country to act aggressively against Afghanistan.
The refusal to accept the status of the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan by the Taliban regime has clearly shown the cracks in the relationship between the two countries.
During his visit to the Durand Line in Paktia province, Mawalwi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid said the Taliban wants good ties with all neighbouring countries and expects the same from them.
Regional analysts believe that Pakistan has committed a strategic blunder in thinking that the Taliban, which the country helped in fighting a US-backed Afghanistan for over two decades, will fulfil Islamabad’s wishes.
After Pakistan backed the Taliban for over two decades to gain Afghanistan’s control back, it seemed like a legitimate expectation of Islamabad that the Taliban will show some gratitude and accede to Pakistan’s wish list on a range of issues.
However, the Taliban have so far not shown any signs of acceding to these wishes. Rather, on several occasions, rejected Pakistan’s demands including the one to recognize the Durand Line.
According to the Canadian think tank, ‘borders’ that have remained porous for centuries have suddenly been shut down, dividing clans and families.
“The enormous harms that have been suffered by the Pashtun community have engendered a deep distrust of the Pakistani state in the minds of Pashtuns on either side of the Durand Line,” IFFRAS said.
