ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul was summoned to the Afghan foreign ministry on Thursday to lodge a formal protest against what the Taliban regime claimed were Pakistani military strikes in Nangarhar and Khost provinces, in a move indicating renewed tensions between the two hyphenated neighbours.
Afghan officials “strongly condemned” the strikes which they claimed resulted in the killing of three civilians and injuries to seven others.
In its protest note, the Afghan foreign ministry denounced what it called Pakistan’s violation of Afghan airspace and the bombing of civilian areas near the Durand Line, describing the strikes as “a blatant breach of Afghanistan’s territorial integrity and a provocative act.”
The ministry further underscored that safeguarding Afghanistan’s sovereignty remains a red line for the “Islamic Emirate”, warning that “such irresponsible actions will inevitably lead to consequences.”
There was no response from Pakistan on either the summoning of the envoy or reported strikes across the border Wednesday night.
Afghan officials in Nangarhar claimed that two drone strikes hit the house of a man in Shinwar district of Nangarhar. The province’s deputy governor, Maulvi Azizullah Mustafa, said Afghanistan was committed to peace and stability, good relations with neighbouring countries, and a neutral stance in international affairs, and such actions will affect regional stability.
The development comes amid renewed friction between Islamabad and Kabul over cross-border terrorism. Pakistan has long accused the Afghan Taliban of providing sanctuary to the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has intensified attacks inside Pakistan after the Taliban returned to power in Kabul.
Islamabad has carried out occasional cross-border strikes, insisting they target terrorist hideouts across the porous frontier. However, Kabul has consistently protested such actions, terming them violations of sovereignty.
Tensions between the two neighbours escalated earlier this year after Pakistan closed key border crossings following a spike in terrorist attacks, while Afghanistan retaliated with restrictions on trade and movement. The latest episode underscores the fragile state of bilateral ties despite recent push by the two sides to sort out their issues.
There have been frequent high-level exchanges between Pakistan and Afghanistan in recent months but those contacts seem to have failed to make a serious headway on the issue of security.
Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar recently travelled to Kabul to attend a trilateral meeting along with the Chinese and Afghan foreign ministers. In a bilateral meeting with Taliban’s interim foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, Dar conveyed Pakistan’s strong reservations over the lack of progress on TTP. He told his Afghan counterpart that the recent surge in terrorist attacks was linked to safe haven of TTP and other groups on Afghan soil.
The Afghan foreign minister was supposed to travel to Islamabad earlier this month but the visit was called off at the last minute after the UN Security Council could not give him travel exemptions over objections raised by the US.
The two sides were working to sort out the issue and have rescheduled the visit but given the latest hiccup, it is not certain if Muttaqi will travel to Pakistan anytime soon.
