"Will break Pakistan just like 1971": Taliban threatens to divide Pakistan into two pieces amid Afghan refugee row
20 Feb 2024 13:35:08
Amid the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and Pakistan tensions, Afghanistan's deputy foreign minister Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai threatened to "partition" Pakistan like in 1971, when Bangladesh was liberated. This comes just months after Pakistan began deporting Afghan refugees from the country.
In a video that is being circulated on the internet, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai is seen saying, "Half of Afghanistan is separated and situated on the other side of the Durand Line. We have never accepted the Durand Line and we will never accept it. Nobody can divide these tribes from each other. Rather, their (Pakistan) actions will result in the same as the partition of Bangladesh in 1971. God willing, these lands will be liberated.
In his public address at a community meeting in Logar, Afghanistan, he accused Pakistan of forcefully expelling Afghan migrants in an extremely repressive manner and insisting on their return to their homeland.
The Taliban Dy FM also refused to accept the Durand Line. "This imaginary line that has been drawn on the heart of Afghans by the British. And now, to our east, our neighbour has oppressively expelled Afghan refugees."
They are being told, "Go back to your own country". They don't feel any shame. They don't have any decency to acknowledge that that country is also their refugee country. It is not theirs.
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In November 2023, Pakistan began expelling 17 lakh "undocumented" Afghans from the country citing them as a "security threat" amid several terror attacks in the nation. Pakistan blamed Tehreek-E-Taliban for the attacks and accused the Afghan Taliban of sheltering them. This situation perfectly goes with the saying, "What you sow is what you will reap". It should also stop sheltering the terror groups who carry out anti-India activities in India, especially in Jammu and Kashmir.
Responding to Taliban Dy FM's allegations, Pakistan Foreign Ministry's spokesperson said, "Any self-serving, fanciful claims regarding the legality, the sanctity of border cannot change the facts of geography, history, international law. Afghan side will be well-advised to address Pakistan's security concerns rather than try to divert public attention by such unfortunate pronouncements."
The 1971 War
The Indo-Pakistani war of 1971 was a huge embarrassment for Pakistan. India ended the war in 13 days defeating Pakistan very badly, and marked the formation of East Pakistan as the new nation of Bangladesh. On December 16 1971, the chief of Pakistani forces, General AA Khan Niazi, along with 93,000 troops, surrendered unconditionally before the Indian military, in what was the world's largest surrender in terms of the number of personnel since World War II.
Notably, the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971 was also one of the shortest wars in world history, fought for a mere one week and six days. It changed the world's perception of India, marking its recognition as a significant regional power.