The relationship between Taliban-dominated Afghanistan and Pakistan is at an all time heated stage as the talk of out-and-out war is becoming louder by the day. The spark? Pakistan Balochistan The huge and troubled southwestern province of the country, which burns with separatist fires and doesn’t boil of old border scores.
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The leaders of Afghani Taliban, who are fresh after the hold they had on Kabul, are now looking at this troubled country as a battle field. Claims that there are Taliban forces gathered along the Durand Line- the controversial border which has plagued both countries at least since the 1900s- is an indication that peace is now a distant dream. What began as minor confrontations and slinging words, has escalated into invasion threats, dragging the region into anarchy.
Balochistan has been a rebellious region; it is full of minerals and gas yet deprived of the right to enjoy the same. Baloch nationalists, armed and furious, want to be released of the iron fist of Islamabad. They perceive the army of Pakistan as the occupiers who seize the lands to build giant projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as the population remains starving. Enter the Taliban. They have witnessed the airstrikes of Pakistan on Afghan soil since gaining power in 2021, pursuing militants that cross the line. But now, the tables turn. Taliban fighters capture videos on leaked videos in which they broadcast their capture of Pakistani bases in Balochistan and hoist flags over captured bases.
Pakistani leaders are shouting that their arch foes, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is hiding in Afghan soil, and is a ruthless offshoot of Islamabad. The Taliban retaliate by naming Pakistan the true villain who bombs the villages and slays innocent people.Imagine the situation, dusty border posts in North Waziristan and Zhob where the gunfire rings at night. The troops of Pakistan, which have trained decades in the war against terrorists, collide with the Taliban who suddenly have heavy weapons. The Afghan party uses the elite 205th Al- Badr Corps, which appears more of an invasion force than border guards. Revenge is talked of, analysts, because the latest attacks on Pakistan have been on its Kabul and Khost that are designed to target TTP hideouts, and these have only served to make them angrier.
Some Taliban spokesman is reported to have growled in a grainy video that they bombed our homes, so we will bomb theirs. Baloch nationalists, such as the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) celebrate in the background. They have been trained a long time in Afghan camps where they have shared tactics with the TTP fighters. They all share a vision of partitioning Pakistan whereby Balochistan will embark on a freedom mission and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be subdued to the reign of Islamists.
To common citizens, it is a nightmare in the making. Families run out of towns that became a shanty town, schools shut, and the roads dug up. In Quetta, the rough capital of Baluchistan, the markets are full of fear, they are saying that Taliban convoys are coming in to the west.
The leaders of Pakistan promise to destroy the threat, sending home the Afghan refugees, and putting razor wire on the border. And the Durand Line, the writing of the 19th century in a map, here is of little significance. Afghanistan never accepted it stating Baluch and Pashtun territory as theirs. In case of war, it is not going to be clean wars but a mess of blood with ambushes, drone attacks, and suicide bombs. China is making a worried gaze at Gwadar port investments. India smiles at its distance, and feels an opportunity of undermining its opponent.
Even Iran, who are also Baloch, prepares against the spilling over.The Taliban who used to be quiet partners of Pakistan against the Soviets and then the Americans are now hard-core enemies. They were born with the assistance of Islamabad in the 1990s and got safe havens in the hills of Balochistan. However bitter betrayal is when Pakistan switched sides after 9/11 after which he pleaded to negotiate with the U.S. after the latter withdrew.
Today, as TTP is back and BLA more daring than ever, the ancient alliance crumbles. Intense battles are underway in South Waziristan and Bajaur where Pakistani forces state that they are killing dozens of infiltrators who are supported by Kabul. But there comes with every raid a new circle of hatred, recruiting new followers to the cause. The dead are buried and the generals curse as the people of Dera Ismail Khan bury the dead and curse the generals on either side. Will saner heads have a truce, or shall pride on the powder keg? A single misplaced shell might pull neighbors into a whirlpool of permanent war with new maps being drawn in blood. The forgotten corner of South Asia, Balochistan is now the key to the fate of the South Asian region. Peace is on a strangled thread yet warriors sharpen the blades.
