Another ambush. Another martyr. Another border violated.
In the silence of Upper Kurram’s mountains, gunfire erupted once again this time in the Hussain Mila area, where Pakistani soldiers stood guard over a nation that has shown too much restraint for far too long. Two sons of the soil embraced martyrdom, eight more were wounded, and the message was clear: Pakistan’s goodwill is being repaid with bullets.
The attackers weren’t locals. They weren’t tribesmen with historical grievances. They came from across the Durand Line, crossing from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, equipped with heavy weapons and Taliban-supplied firepower. This wasn’t a rogue act of border crime. It was a coordinated, well-supported assault that could only occur under the watchful and complicit eye of the Afghan regime.
One of the attackers was captured alive. His confession revealed what we already knew but have diplomatically avoided saying aloud: the Afghan Taliban are enabling terrorism on Pakistani soil. They are not just sheltering militants. They are arming them.
This is no longer about “shared history” or “strategic patience.” It is about national survival.
Pakistan’s repeated gestures of goodwill be it economic assistance, refugee protection, or the dangerous decision to trust the Taliban-led Afghanistan with regional stability have yielded only betrayal. Every martyred soldier is a reminder that patience, when extended to the wrong partner, becomes complicity in one’s own losses.
And yet, amid this betrayal, something extraordinary happened in Kurram. When mosque loudspeakers announced the attack, locals joined the military, not just with prayers, but with action. They rose to defend their villages. They chased down the attackers. This was not just a military operation. It was a popular uprising against cross-border terror. It showed that while our enemies infiltrate through porous borders, they can never penetrate the loyalty of our people.
What more proof does the international community require? How long will Pakistan remain silent while Taliban-run territory becomes a breeding ground for anti-Pakistan militancy?
Pakistan must now reconsider every agreement, every open corridor, every diplomatic courtesy extended to Kabul. Strategic patience has expired. Sovereignty demands a new doctrine one that matches tolerance with resolve, and diplomacy with defense.
Kurram bleeds again. But this time, it must lead to consequences.
