By Khalil
Afghanistan is a land whose history is bound up with unending epics of struggle and resistance against invaders, a land that at no stage in its history has bowed its head to force, coercion, or foreign domination. British colonialism attacked this land with the full weight of its military power but faced defeat in three successive wars.
During the Soviet occupation, too, the Afghan people, through their national unity and their honor, forced the Red Army into retreat, and nearly two decades later the United States and its allies were also forced to leave Afghanistan after a long and fruitless war. These successive chapters of history have shown that the will of the Afghan people cannot be broken by any foreign power. But today a new chapter is opening in the history of Afghanistan’s security, a chapter in which the country’s intelligence and security forces have moved beyond a purely defensive and reactive posture and turned toward an active, decisive, and preventive security stance.
This shift in Afghanistan’s security approach is a natural response to the growing threats directed at this country by certain neighbors, particularly Pakistan’s military regime. Pakistan, which for years has used armed groups as a tool to expand its influence in Afghanistan, now faces a new reality: today’s Afghanistan is no longer the passive, vulnerable country it once was.
Afghan intelligence and security forces, drawing on years of valuable experience in struggle and jihad, on internal capabilities, and on firm resolve, have brought themselves to a level of readiness and strength such that any aggression or transgression will meet a decisive, multiplied response.
One of the clearest signs of this shift is the change in how Afghanistan deals with threats from across the Durand Line. In past times, Afghanistan was mostly in a reactive posture, and after any attack or transgression it would content itself with filing complaints and waiting for the international community to act. But today the strategy of strategic patience has given way to a strategy of neutralizing threats at their source. As the IEA spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has stated plainly, Afghanistan will no longer allow its soil to become a refuge for terrorist groups and elements that disturb security, and any threat, regardless of geographic borders, will meet a decisive response.
Afghan forces’ recent operations along the imaginary Durand Line, which resulted in the capture of dozens of Pakistani military posts and heavy losses inflicted on that country’s army, are clear proof of this strategic shift. These operations, carried out in full coordination among various military and intelligence bodies, showed that Afghan security forces possess considerable capability in intelligence gathering, precise planning, and carrying out offensive operations beyond the country’s borders.
These successes carry a clear message to those who wish Afghanistan ill, whether domestic mercenaries or foreign agents, that their era of safety and comfort has ended, and any action against Afghanistan’s security will meet a harsh and unpredictable response.
This major security advance is, without doubt, the result of Afghanistan’s military leadership having developed a deep understanding of the nature of new threats. They have understood well that in today’s age, relying on simple equipment like Kalashnikovs and yellow barrels of explosives can no longer meet the country’s security needs. Against enemies equipped with advanced air power and technological tools, the fight requires modern equipment and defensive capabilities suited to the present era. For this reason, achieving self-sufficiency in military equipment production and raising the technical level of the armed forces have been put forward as serious working priorities of the IEA.
But in this arena, Afghanistan’s strongest force remains national will and tribal unity. As this land’s history has shown, whenever Afghans have united against a common threat, they have prevailed over any force. Today too, the intelligence and security forces, leaning on this same popular support, have turned into strong pillars of national security, defending the country’s territorial integrity and national dignity against any aggression.
Pakistan’s military regime and other elements of evil and corruption should understand that today’s Afghanistan is no longer a testing ground for their trial and error; every miscalculation will now come at a much heavier cost.
