The Foreign Office (FO) warned on Sunday that any further act of aggression by Afghanistan would receive an “unwavering and appropriate response”.
This statement comes in the wake of intense border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which began on Saturday night and continued into Sunday morning. The Inter-Services Public Relations said 23 soldiers were martyred and 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists were killed as Islamabad responded to unprovoked aggression by Kabul.
Following the incident, a FO statement said: “Pakistan greatly values dialogue and diplomacy and a mutually beneficial relationship with Afghanistan.
“At the same time, the Government of Pakistan continues to closely monitor the situation and will take all possible measures to safeguard its territory and the lives of its people. Any further provocation will be met with an unwavering and appropriate response.”
In its statement, the FO expressed concern about the “unjustified aggression of the Afghan Taliban, Fitna al Khawarij and Fitna al Hindustan”, which he added would destabilize neighborly relations between the two nations.
“Pakistan, exercising its right of self-defense, not only effectively repelled attacks along the border but also inflicted heavy losses on the Taliban forces and their allies. kharjisin terms of men, material and infrastructure,” the FO stated, adding that the infrastructure was used to “plan and facilitate” acts of terrorism.
The FO also strongly rejected acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s “claims and insinuations” to divert attention from the presence of terrorists in Afghanistan.
Muttaqi is currently visiting India, where he said in a speech that there is no terrorist organization or group left in Afghanistan, adding that a country’s problems must be resolved internally.
“By making these baseless claims, the Taliban regime cannot absolve itself of its responsibilities towards regional peace and stability,” the FO statement said.
“[The] The continued presence of terrorist elements on Afghan soil and the freedom of activities they enjoy in Afghanistan are well documented in the reports of the UN Monitoring Team.”
Noting that the fight against terrorism is a “common cause”, the FO urged Kabul to fulfill its commitment not to prevent the use of its territory for terrorism against other countries and to play its role in achieving peace and stability in the region, instead of passing the blame.
More to follow
