Press Release
The Recent Clashes Between Afghanistan and Pakistan Serve the Interests of U.S. and Indian Regional Policies
(Translated)

On Saturday night, the armed forces of Afghanistan and Pakistan engaged in border fighting, striking one another’s positions along the Durand Line; as a result, both Muslim sides suffered casualties. Two nights earlier, the Pakistani army had bombed certain locations in the cities of Kabul and Paktika, causing casualties of its own.

The Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Wilayah Afghanistan has condemned the ongoing war between these two Muslim lands and regards it as serving the regional policies of the US and India and harming Muslims. The conflict once again demonstrates how artificial borders and un-Islamic politics have set Muslims against one another, while the real enemies of the Ummah watch the situation from a position of complete security.

It is deeply regrettable that the Pakistani army — which counts itself the strongest armed forces in the Islamic world — deploys its strength and weapons not against the enemies of Islam but against fellow Muslims. That same army, which shamelessly abandoned the cause of Kashmir to India and has remained silent in the face of the anti-Islam policies and repressive measures of the Hindu-nationalist Modi government, now strikes cities and villages in Afghanistan and in tribal areas with such boldness that, had that courage and determination been shown against India and the Jews’ state, Kashmir would not lie in humiliation, Gaza would not have endured two years of siege and mass slaughter, and today a shameful peace settlement would not be imposed on the people of Gaza under the pressure and betrayal of some Arab rulers and Pakistan.

We know that this pattern of hostility toward Muslims and silence before Kufr is the work of a specific, mercenary circle within the Pakistani army, and that this audacity stems from the temporary closeness of Pakistan’s leadership to their master, Donald Trump. That rapprochement has given the Pakistani army the illusion and boldness to carry out attacks in Afghanistan, and the US has defined a role for Pakistan’s military to keep its own Muslim populations in the tribal areas and along the Durand Line engaged and preoccupied with the Afghan mujahidin.

As has happened recently, and as a temporary punishment to India, the US once again pretends that Pakistan is an important partner; Pakistan’s political and military leadership busies itself with travel, photo-ops and ingratiating gestures toward American officials. Yet when winds change, Pakistan is thrust once more into the corner of forgetfulness. As Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Pakistan’s defense minister, once admitted: “We have been doing this dirty work for the United States for about three decades… and the West, including Britain. That was a mistake and we suffered for that.”

This confession shows that decades of Pakistan’s policy served American interests and imposed a heavy cost on the Muslims of the region. Recent events also indicate that Pakistan has not learned from history and is once again currying favor for the return of the US to the region. The reality is that America remembers Pakistan only when it reaches an impasse in its policies toward Afghanistan, India, or China. At that point Pakistan suddenly becomes a “strategic partner” and its temporary role is activated. But once the mission is over and U.S. policy in the region returns to its normal course, Pakistan is sidelined again; all those promises and diplomatic smiles— as was evident during the Biden era — are nothing but temporary masks.

Our message to the Afghan mujahidin and to the sincere men within the Pakistani army is this: rather than slaughtering Muslims and fighting each other, look to the bigger picture. At present the hopes of Muslims worldwide — especially in South Asia — rest on the military capability of the Afghan mujahidin and those loyal officers in the Pakistani army who place Islam and the promise of Paradise above worldly rank and position. These forces possess the capacity to bring about major change: by removing artificial, colonial borders and by establishing a second Rashidun caliphate, they can unite the Ummah’s capabilities across the region and emerge as an independent political and military pole on the world stage. In fact, such a caliphate would neutralize the colonial designs of the US, India, and China in the region and would mobilize an army to liberate occupied Muslim lands such as Kashmir, East Turkestan, and Palestine.

[وَأَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَلاَ تَنَازَعُوا فَتَفْشَلُوا وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ وَاصْبِرُواْ إِنَّ اللّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ]

“And obey Allah and His Messenger, and do not dispute and [thus] lose courage and [then] your strength would depart; and be patient. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.” [Al-Anfal:46]

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir
in Wilayah Afghanistan