Kabul told to avoid unprovoked acts on border with Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Friday asked the interim government of Taliban in Kabul to avoid unprovoked activities on the border with Pakistan in order to maintain peace.

FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch was responding to a question regarding firing from the Afghan side on Torkham border. She called upon the Afghan authorities to exercise restraint. She said the Afghan authorities must understand that Pakistani forces will always defend its territory.

“We remain ready to resolve any misunderstanding through diplomatic channels.”

She said Pakistan had been raising concerns about the presence of terrorist hideouts and sanctuaries inside Afghanistan. Pakistan expects Afghan authorities to take effective and robust action against terrorist groups.

The Foreign Office spokesperson said that after India’s unilateral steps in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, several measures were taken by Pakistan such as suspension of bilateral trade.  

She condemned the recent killing of four Kashmiri youth by Indian occupation forces in Doda district and said it was yet another example of India’s illegal and oppressive steps against the Kashmiri people.