Pakistan’s interim prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar said in an interview that his country’s prime responsibility lies in defending its borders, which will be protected at all cost.

In an interview with Pakistan’s Aaj News on Monday night, Kakar was asked about the recent attack by militants allegedly from Afghanistan on the Chitral district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and said the authorities are “gauging” the attackers’ intention and capability.

“If there is any Westphalian idea of the state in Afghanistan that a central state authority is there and its command structure goes to the border post, it is not like that,” he said and explained that there were multiple layers of government structure.

He highlighted the bond shared by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), with its ideological twin the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA).

When asked about Pakistan’s response as suggested by caretaker interior minister Sarfraz Bugti on Sunday, Kakar said: “Pakistan’s prime responsibility lies to defend its own borders and we will do that at any cost.”

When pressed, he said: “Whatever the cost is.” He added that the inclusion or exclusion of any strike in Afghanistan was not under consideration. “We think our digital space, airspace, physical space is sacrosanct. And, its sanctity would be ensured by our border management and air force.”

He highlighted that Pakistan has different mechanisms for sharing information with Afghanistan. We have many things you want people to not be nervous about because of the truth, he said.

He also wondered whether Afghanistan had a central authority after global powers spent around $3 trillion in the country between 2001 and 2021.

Kakar said the central authority project did not succeed in Afghanistan because the rest of the world went home.

“The remaining control is a de facto government, not a de jure government. It is not a legitimate government,” he stated and described the situation as a complex web.