ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s president Saturday (March 14) warned neighbouring Afghanistan’s Taliban government that it had " crossed a red line ” by launching drone attacks on civilian areas in Pakistan, and hours later the country reportedly conducted strikes on an Afghan drone storage facility.
The statement by Asif Ali Zardari was the latest in what has become the deadliest fighting yet between the two South Asian neighbours. The cross-border clashes, which erupted late last month, have shown no signs of abating despite efforts by China and Turkey to broker a ceasefire.
Pakistan said its forces intercepted the drones launched Friday but that falling debris injured two children in the city of Quetta and two people elsewhere in the country.
According to state-run media, Pakistan's air force carried out strikes late Saturday in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar Province, targeting an Afghan military facility that had allegedly been used to launch drone attacks into Pakistan a day earlier and that the facility was also being used by the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban for "acts of terrorism” in Pakistan.
Pakistan TV, citing security officials, reported that the latest strikes were intended to signal to Kabul that Afghan territory cannot be used for cross-border attacks against Pakistan.
There was no immediate comment from Kabul about the latest strikes in Kandahar.
On Friday, the Afghan Taliban government accused Pakistan of conducting airstrikes in Kabul, the country's capital, and other areas in eastern Afghanistan, saying at least six civilians were killed and 15 other were injured.
Hours later, Kabul claimed its air force responded by targeting military installations near Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, and in north-western Pakistan.
Pakistan denied targeting civilians, saying its operations are focused on Pakistani Taliban militants and their support networks.
Islamabad has referred to the conflict as an "open war” - adding to concerns among the international community about regional stability as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran has engulfed the Middle East and beyond.
Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that Pakistani aircraft also struck fuel depots belonging to the 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 harbouring Pakistani militant groups - mainly the Pakistani Taliban - that cross the porous volatile border between the two countries to stage attacks against Pakistani forces and also of allying with its archrival, India. Kabul denies harbouring militant groups.
On Friday, a roadside bomb targeting Pakistani police killed seven officers in the northwestern district of Lakki Mawat.
Zardari slammed the government in Kabul.
"While the Afghan terrorist regime seeks negotiations with our friendly countries, it crossed a red line by attempting to target our civilians," he said.
Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry said Saturday on X that its defence forces along the border in the eastern provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar captured a Pakistani post and killed 14 Pakistani soldiers. In Islamabad, Pakistan’s Information Ministry said the claim was baseless.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesman, Mosharraf Zaidi, said the "Afghan Taliban are spending more time weaving fantasies" than they are getting rid of "terrorist organisations enjoying Afghan Taliban regime hospitality.”
He said on X that such propaganda would not force Pakistan to end its counterterrorism operations. "Only the end of terrorism from Afghan soil to Pakistan will,” he said.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday urged for a peaceful resolution of the Afghanistan-Pakistan dispute, warning the use of force worsens tensions and threatens regional stability.
His remarks were reported 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 promote 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 greater role.
A Qatari-mediated ceasefire in October briefly reduced tensions, but subsequent talks in Turkey failed to produce a lasting agreement. - AP
