Pakistan’s Afghanistan Policy Mirrors the Cross-Border Doctrine It Once Condemned

A new geopolitical analysis suggests that Pakistan has embraced the same cross-border counterterrorism doctrine it strongly opposed when India launched Operation Sindoor in May 2025.

The article argues that India’s military response to the Pahalgam attack, which killed 26 Indian civilians, established a new strategic principle: states accused of supporting militant groups could no longer rely on plausible deniability to avoid retaliation. During Operation Sindoor, India struck nine sites linked to militant organizations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.

At the time, Pakistani officials denounced the doctrine as unlawful, insisting that India had failed to present conclusive proof of state involvement. However, by February 2026, Pakistan had launched air and artillery strikes inside Afghanistan, accusing the Taliban-led government of sheltering the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has carried out deadly attacks inside Pakistan.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif described the campaign as an “open war” against terrorism. The operation, known as Operation Ghazab lil Haq, has reportedly targeted TTP bases in eastern Afghanistan, including strikes in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces.

The analysis notes that Pakistan’s approach relies on the same legal rationale it previously rejected: that a state may use force across borders when it believes another government is unable or unwilling to stop militant groups operating from its territory.

At the same time, the article argues that militant groups targeted by India, including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, continue to operate through affiliated organizations despite heightened pressure. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s military campaign has disrupted trade with Afghanistan and pushed Kabul to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties with India and Central Asian countries.

The report concludes that strategic doctrines often outlive the circumstances in which they are first introduced. In this case, Pakistan is now applying the same principles it once condemned, underscoring the evolving security landscape in South Asia and the increasingly blurred boundaries of cross-border counterterrorism.

Courtesy: nationalinterest