Pakistan’s president slammed Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities after accusing them of carrying out drone attacks on civilian areas inside Pakistan. He said the attacks crossed a clear line and warned that Kabul’s leadership would face serious consequences for the alleged actions.
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s president on Saturday warned Afghanistan’s neighboring Taliban government that it had ” crossed a red line Launching drone attacks on civilian areas in Pakistan and said that the administration in Kabul has brought “serious consequences on itself”.
Asif Ali Zardari’s statement was the latest in what has become the deadliest clash between the two neighbors so far. Cross-border clashes, which erupted late last month, have shown no sign of abating despite the efforts of China and Turkey to broker a truce.
Pakistan said its forces intercepted the drones launched on Friday, but that falling debris injured two children in the city of Quetta and two people elsewhere in the country.
On Friday, the Afghan Taliban government accused Pakistan of carrying out airstrikes in Kabul, the country’s capital, and other areas in eastern Afghanistan, saying at least six civilians were killed and 15 others wounded.
Hours later, Kabul claimed its air force responded by targeting military installations near Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, and in northwest Pakistan.
Pakistan has denied targeting civilians, saying its operations are focused on Pakistani Taliban militants and their support networks. Islamabad has referred to the conflict as a “open war” — adding to the international community’s concerns about regional stability as well The US-Israel war with Iran it has included the Middle East and beyond.
Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani jets also hit fuel depots belonging to private airline Kam Air near the airport in the southern city of Kandahar, which he said supplies civilian and UN flights.
Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban government of harboring Pakistani militant groups – mainly the Pakistani Taliban – who cross the porous and volatile border between the two countries to stage attacks against Pakistani forces and also to ally with its rival India. Kabul denies harboring militant groups.
On Friday, a roadside bomb targeting Pakistani police killed seven officers in the northwestern neighborhood of Lakki Mawat.
Zardari attacked the government in Kabul.
“While the terrorist Afghan regime seeks negotiations with our friendly countries, it has crossed a red line by trying to target our civilians,” he said.
Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that its defense forces along the border in the eastern provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar captured a Pakistani outpost and killed 14 Pakistani soldiers. In Islamabad, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said the claim was baseless.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesman, Mosharraf Zaidi, said that “the Afghan Taliban are spending more time spinning fantasy” than getting rid of “terrorist organizations that enjoy the hospitality of the Afghan Taliban regime.”
He said in X that such propaganda would not force Pakistan to end its counter-terrorism operations. “Only the end of terrorism from Afghan soil in Pakistan will happen,” he said.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Friday for a peaceful solution to the Afghanistan-Pakistan dispute, warning that the use of force exacerbates tensions and threatens regional stability. His remarks were reported on Saturday by China’s official Xinhua news agency, which said Wang had spoken with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
Wang said China’s special envoy is shuttling between the two countries in an effort to encourage restraint and encourage a ceasefire. Muttaqi said Afghanistan seeks regional peace and does not want a military conflict, adding that dialogue remains the only solution and urging China to play a bigger role.
or A ceasefire brokered by Qatar in October briefly eased tensionsbut subsequent talks in Turkey failed to produce a lasting agreement.
Qahar reported from Kabul, Afghanistan. Associated Press writer Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
Subscribe to our free newsletters
Our weekly newsletter Closing arguments provides the latest on ongoing trials, major litigation and decisions in courts around the US and the world, while monthly Under the lights feeds legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.
