RASC News Agency: Reports from Helmand province indicate mounting tensions between Taliban forces and Pakistani border guards in the Bahramcha district. According to credible sources, the Taliban have deployed heavy weaponry and reinforcements along the border. A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that the Taliban intended to establish new security outposts near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, but Pakistani forces thwarted their efforts. The source further disclosed that the Taliban have ordered local residents to vacate their homes. In response, numerous families have been fleeing the area since Wednesday. Another source reported to media outlets that Pakistani forces opened fire on Taliban vehicles on Tuesday, yet the Taliban refrained from retaliating.
A video circulating online captures the sound of gunfire, though neither the Taliban nor Pakistani authorities have issued official statements regarding the incident. Historically, the Taliban have enjoyed unwavering support from Pakistan, with Islamabad’s intelligence agencies believing that a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan would serve Pakistan’s strategic interests. During the Taliban’s rule, Afghanistan was largely seen as an extension of Pakistan’s geopolitical influence. However, a shift in Pakistan’s domestic political landscape coupled with the Taliban’s backing of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) insurgency and their interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs under the pretext of the Durand Line dispute has severely strained relations.
Islamabad now appears to have recognized the strategic blunder of supporting the Taliban. The group, in collaboration with certain regional actors, has lent its support to extremist factions and Pashtun separatist movements within Pakistan, fueling secessionist aspirations an alarming development that has deepened Islamabad’s security concerns.
