Afghan Taliban must understand India can never be their friend: Hafiz Naeem

LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Chief Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman on Friday warned the Afghan Taliban that India could never be their ally and urged caution to prevent further tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In a statement on X, Naeem expressed deep concern over the escalating tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, warning that a slide toward open conflict would be detrimental for the people of both neighbouring Islamic countries.

He added that the growing alliance between Israel and India poses a dangerous challenge for the Muslim world.

The JI chief urged the Afghan Taliban leadership not to take any steps that could isolate them from the broader Islamic community or benefit anti-Islam forces.

پاکستان اور افغانستان کے درمیان کشیدہ تعلقات کا باقاعدہ جنگ کی طرف بڑھنا انتہائی تشویش ناک ہے۔ دو ہمسایہ اسلامی ممالک کے درمیان یہ صورتحال دونوں طرف کے عوام کے لیے نہایت تکلیف دہ ہے۔

پاکستان کی سلامتی اور دفاع 25 کروڑ پاکستانیوں کی ترجیح اول ہے۔ پاک افغان کشیدگی ایک ایسے وقت…

— Naeem ur Rehman (@NaeemRehmanEngr) February 27, 2026

Naeem called on the Pakistani government to convene an immediate joint session of Parliament and consult all stakeholders to address the crisis. He also urged senior Islamic scholars to intervene, as they have in the past, to help defuse tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He appealed to countries such as China, Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia to continue their efforts to normalize relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan and play a constructive role in this critical moment.

He further warned that the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia defence agreement is unacceptable to Israel, and that attempts to undermine unity in the Muslim world are part of the agenda of anti-Islamic forces.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has launched retaliatory airstrikes on Taliban-linked targets inside Afghanistan, claiming that 133 members of the Afghan Taliban were killed and more than 200 were injured in the operation, Pakistani officials said on Friday.

The strikes were carried out under the banner of the ‘Ghazab Lil Haq’ operation in response to what officials described as the Afghan Taliban’s unprovoked cross-border firing along multiple locations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said the airstrikes targeted defensive positions linked to the Afghan Taliban in Kabul, Paktia, and Kandahar. Speaking to ARY News, he stated that further casualties were possible as operations continued.

Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif described the action as a decisive response to aggression, warning that Pakistan would not tolerate threats to its sovereignty or territorial integrity.

Officials said the operation was aimed at neutralising hostile elements and deterring further escalation along the border.