Kabul: A day after Iran's missile and drone infiltrated Pakistan's airspace and smashed militant bases in the Baloch region, Afghanistan's former acting President took a dig at Islamabad and quipped how a "country which has nuclear arsenal but got kicked from all sides". Earlier on Tuesday, Iran launched massive attacks targeting what it described as bases inside Pakistan for the militant group Jaish al-Adl--a Sunni militant group which largely operates across the border in nuclear-armed Pakistan. According to the Pakistani government, the missile infiltrated their airspace and killed at least two children.
When General Musharraf called Pakistan- "a banana republic"
Calling Iran's action on Pakistan-originated militant organisation a "great" and "courageous" move, Afghanistan former official Amrullah Saleh, took to X (formerly Twitter) and shared an interesting conversation between him and former President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf. Quipping the title accorded by the General to his own nation, Saleh recalled how Musharraf called Islamabad- a "banana republic"-- a phrase to insult any country.
"I read that Iran has launched a missile attack against the Jaish Adle terrorist group in Pakistan's border edge. Great and courageous move. I wish we had such capability to target Quetta Shura when they were based there for 20-plus years. I can imagine the feelings of the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi," Saleh wrote on X. "General Musharaf in his famous encounter with me had said, "Pakistan is not a banana republic where you can send your agents and then tell us that Usma Bin Laden is here," Afghanistan's former leader recalled.
Saleh said he replied former Pakistan President that this was the title that he gave with his own, not him. "I replied, Mr President, that is the title you just gave to your country, not me. Maybe it is. I didn't know then and I don't know what the meaning of the banana republic but I think it means that if a country has a nuclear arsenal but gets kicked from all sides," he wrote.
Pakistan has been kicked from all sides
Interestingly, the Afghanistani leader was recalling how Islamabad had been kicked from all its neighbouring nations including the one where the United States entered the country and eliminated Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Lade-- a Saudi-born Islamic dissident and militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda from 1988 until his death in 2011. Later, in 2016, the Indian Army conducted surgical strikes against terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The strikes were in response to a terrorist attack on an Indian army base in Uri, wherein 19 soldiers were martyred. And now, in 2024, Iran entered the border region and attacked the militant groups.
"US drones fly from Qatar let alone night attack of May 2011, TTP from Waziristan, Iranian missiles from the West, Indian surgical strikes from the east and so on. The vision of Jinah and the revisionism of Gen. Zia are all faltering. I don't mean to hurt anyone's feelings," wrote Saleh.
Why Iran attacked Pakistan
According to al-Arabiya News, the militant group was formed in 2012 and is designated as a “terrorist” organization by Tehran. It has a history of launching multiple attacks on Iranian security forces over the years. According to Iranian media, a police station in Sistan-Baluchistan was attacked wherein at least 11 policemen were killed. Later, the group claimed responsibility for the attack.
It is worth mentioning Pakistan is a country which has tension with almost all its neighbouring nations. Once former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in reference to Pakistan, said, "We can change friends but not our neighbours." However, in the case of Pakistan, almost all of its neighbouring nations want to change it. In fact, it shared "good relations" with Afghanistan before 2021 as it harboured several militant outfits on its soil but after the Taliban took over the country, it became a headache for Islamabad.
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