Pretoria
Gordon, Journalist
The Pakistan
Association of New Zealand is fearing that the conflict
between Pakistan and Afghanistan will affect the
relationship between Pakistani and Afghan New
Zealanders.
Pakistan bombed cities in Afghanistan,
including the capital
Kabul, on Friday.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister
Khawaja Asif declared an “all-out
confrontation” with the Taliban.
“Our patience has
now run out. Now it is open war between us,” he
said.
The Pakistan Association of New Zealand
president Dr Asif Saeed Khan told RNZ that it was very
unfortunate, and very much unexpected.
“They are very
close to each other in terms of culture, religion, and all
that.”
Khan said Pakistan and Afghanistan shared a
border of more than 2500 kilometres, with people of Pashtun
ethnicity living in both countries.
Pakistanis had
supported Afghans for nearly 50 years, since the Cold War,
Khan added.
“The war is a kind of a confusion in this
regard.”
However, the relationship between the
Taliban-led Afghanistan and Pakistan has been
volatile.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
The latest
violence erupted after Pakistan’s airstrikes on Afghan
territory last weekend triggered Afghan retaliatory
attacks along the border, escalating long-simmering tensions
over Pakistan’s claim that Afghanistan shelters Pakistani
Taliban militants, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban
Pakistan.
Afghanistan denies this.
Pakistanis
believed there was no other option but to stop the conflict,
Khan said, especially as it was during the month of
Ramadan.
Ramadan, in Islam, is the ninth month of the
Muslim calendar – from 17 February to 19 March in
2026.
“The month of Ramadan is usually the month of
peace… so it is a violation of that tradition… we are
fighting, and we are creating havoc on each other,” Khan
said.
He also feared that it would also cause conflict
between Pakistani and Afghan New Zealanders if it did not
stop.
“There is a kind of situation which is very
dangerous in this land, that this will definitely impact
their relationship as well.
“The Pakistanis living in
New Zealand, and the Afghanis living in New Zealand, they
are definitely creating a kind of a bad feeling and a
mistrust kind of thing, because obviously, all those things
which happen overseas, they have got an overlapping
effect.”
New Zealand’s public broadcaster, providing comprehensive NZ news and current affairs, specialist audio features and documentaries.
Radio New Zealand is a Crown entity established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. Radio New Zealand News are vital elements in our programming, providing impartial news and information to New Zealanders every day. Radio New Zealand (RNZ) provides listeners with exciting and independent radio programmes in accordance with the Radio New Zealand Charter.
