KABUL/ISLAMABAD: The Afghan Taliban have asked Pakistan to prefer peace instead of war and assured that Kabul will not allow anyone to use its soil against Islamabad.
During a meeting with Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Asif Durrani earlier this week, acting Afghan Deputy Prime Minister Maulavi Abdul Kabir said that Pakistan is not only their neighbour country but also a Muslim brother and Kabul wants lasting peace there.
“We have seen the bitter experiences of wars. We advise Pakistan to prefer peace instead of wars,” Kabir told Durrani, according to state-run Bakhtar News.
Durrani arrived in Kabul on Wednesday to meet with the interim administration’s senior officials to discuss the latest security situation in the region after recent attacks in Pakistan.
“Afghanistan does not interfere in the internal affairs of any country, including Pakistan, and we will not allow anyone to use Afghan soil against Pakistan or any neighbouring country,” Kabir said, adding they never wanted insecurity and war in Pakistan because it would also have impacts for Afghanistan.
During his three-day stay in Kabul, Durrani also met with acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and acting ministers for commerce, public health, and higher education.
This was his first official visit to Afghanistan since assuming his responsibilities as Pakistan’s Special Representative in Afghanistan in May this year.
His visit came just days after 12 soldiers and seven militants were killed in two attacks and subsequent operations in the Zhob and Sui areas of Balochistan last week that further increased tension between the two neighbours.
On Monday, Pakistan Army warned the Afghan Taliban about providing safe havens to Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and said the militants’ safe havens and sophisticated weapons pose a security risk to the country.
The TTP is a conglomerate of several militant groups in Pakistan that Islamabad believes are currently inside Afghanistan.
Earlier last week, the army chief said that TTP militants have freedom of action across the border in Afghanistan and urged Kabul not to allow its soil to be used against any country.
Later, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif also accused Afghanistan of not fulfilling its obligations as a neighbour.
Asif said Kabul is not abiding by the commitments made in the 2020 Doha agreement.
“Five to six million Afghans are living [for the] past 40 to 50 years with all rights (in Pakistan) while on the other side, those terrorists who shed the blood of Pakistanis can find refuge on Afghan soil,” he said in a tweet.
“This situation cannot continue any longer. Pakistan will use all its resources to protect its land and citizens,” he added.
