ASIA/PAKISTAN – A priest in Pakistan: “An alliance with Afghanistan, not war, to defeat terrorism”

Karachi – “Terrorism is a problem that affects both Pakistan and Afghanistan. To fight it together, we need an alliance, not another war. We observe with sadness and concern the new conflict on the border with Afghanistan, after tensions and clashes with India on the Kashmir border. We must not lose sight of the most important thing for our people and neighboring peoples: peace,” Father Mario Angelo Rodrigues, a priest of the Archdiocese of Karachi, told Fides, referring to the intensifying fighting on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The priest, principal of the prestigious St. Patrick’s Catholic High School in Karachi, which was attended by over 4,000 students, including Christians, Muslims, and Hindus, emphasized: “We continue to speak to our young people about the importance of a culture of peace and raise awareness about it.” Furthermore, he notes, “in a world torn by conflict, the Catholic communities in Pakistan pray intensely for peace every Sunday and address their prayers to God for reconciliation both between Pakistan and India and between Pakistan and Afghanistan.”
“In general,” Father Rodrigues emphasizes, “however, people in our society are hardly aware of these dynamics and conflicts because, due to widespread poverty, they are busy thinking about their survival and daily livelihood. The first priority is to find food for their families.” On the night of October 14-15, more than 10 Afghan civilians were killed and over 100 injured, while fierce fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan has raged along the shared border since October 11.
Pakistani security officials accused Afghan troops of “unprovoked shelling” that was repelled in Kurram, a district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The Pakistani army killed 30 Afghan Taliban fighters in the Afghan province of Khost overnight and destroyed a major training center in Afghanistan used by the Pakistani Taliban. Afghanistan, however, claimed to have killed 58 Pakistani soldiers in retaliation for “repeated violations of Afghan territory and airspace.” The Taliban government in Kabul claimed that Pakistan had carried out attacks in Kandahar province on Pakistan’s southwestern border, while the Pakistani army said the fighting was being orchestrated by the Taliban in Afghanistan. Fighting along the border temporarily ceased on October 12 following appeals from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, while the border crossings remained closed. The resumption of fighting underscores the ongoing tensions between the two countries. The Taliban government accuses Pakistan of starting the conflict by launching airstrikes on Kabul and eastern Afghanistan, thereby violating the state’s sovereignty. Meanwhile, Pakistani state media reported that the army had targeted hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban, known as the “Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan” , a group allied with the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan accuses the Taliban government in Kabul of harboring and protecting the TTP, which has carried out numerous attacks in Pakistan. Kabul, however, denies all allegations. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul in 2021, and latent tensions have persisted in recent months: between January and September 2025, over 500 people were killed in various clashes.

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