Pakistan’s newly appointed military chief has issued a stark ultimatum to Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, warning that Kabul must choose between maintaining a functional relationship with Islamabad or continuing its perceived support for the Pakistani Taliban, the militant group blamed for hundreds of attacks inside Pakistan.
Gen. Asim Munir delivered the message Monday in Rawalpindi as he inaugurated Pakistan’s new Joint Defence Forces Headquarters—a landmark tri-services command intended to merge military operations across land, air, sea, cyber and intelligence domains.
The guard of honor ceremony, attended by senior officers from all branches of the armed forces, underscored the significance of Munir’s expanding authority amid shifting regional security dynamics.
According to a military statement, Munir told his officers that Pakistan had delivered a “clear message” to the Taliban leadership in Kabul: they must decide between “Pakistan and Fitna al-Khawarij,” the term Pakistani authorities use to refer to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Although organizationally distinct, the TTP maintains deep ideological and operational ties with the Afghan Taliban and has grown more emboldened since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
Kabul has not publicly responded. However, relations between the neighbors—never stable—have deteriorated sharply in recent months. A series of border clashes in October killed dozens of soldiers and civilians on both sides, injuring hundreds more and prompting fears of a broader confrontation.
The violence followed twin explosions in Kabul on Oct. 9 that Taliban authorities blamed on Pakistan. A Qatar-brokered ceasefire has largely held since then, though attempts to formalize a longer-term agreement collapsed during multiple rounds of talks in Istanbul.
Munir has risen to prominence in recent months, particularly after Pakistan claimed to have repelled a four-day escalation with India earlier this year.
The two nuclear-armed rivals exchanged aerial and missile strikes in May after India targeted militants inside Pakistan, accusing Islamabad-backed groups of orchestrating the massacre of 26 tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
The confrontation eased only after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a “full and immediate ceasefire.”
Speaking Monday, Munir said Pakistan’s operations during that conflict have become a “textbook example” of future warfare.
He warned India against miscalculating Pakistan’s readiness, saying any future provocation would be met with a response “even swifter and more severe.” Pakistan, he added, seeks peace—but will not tolerate threats to its territorial integrity or sovereignty.
Pakistan and India have fought three wars since 1947, most of them centered on the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.
