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Khalilzad condemns Pakistani airstrikes, questions Islamabad’s intentions
He questioned whether Pakistan genuinely wanted a negotiated solution, asking whether the country’s leadership was seeking to resolve the dispute or pursuing broader strategic objectives.
Former US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has condemned Pakistan’s overnight airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan, saying the attacks have caused heavy civilian casualties despite repeated calls for dialogue to resolve tensions between the two countries.
In a statement posted on social media, Khalilzad said Pakistan had once again resorted to military action despite appeals from the international community and many Pakistanis to settle disputes through diplomatic means.
“I have always condemned the killing of Afghan civilians by Pakistan, and I condemn it again today,” he said.
His comments came after Afghanistan’s Islamic Emirate said Pakistani military aircraft carried out strikes in the eastern provinces of Paktia, Paktika and Kunar overnight.
According to Deputy Spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat, at least 36 civilians, including women and children, were killed and 163 others wounded.
The Islamic Emirate said the deadliest attack occurred in Mandokhail village in Paktia’s Chamkani district, where an initial strike hit a civilian home before a second strike allegedly targeted villagers responding to the scene. Officials also reported civilian casualties in Paktika province and the destruction of a residential home in Kunar province.
Khalilzad said Islamabad had also failed to respond to numerous proposals put forward by the Islamic Emirate aimed at addressing security concerns between the neighbouring countries.
He questioned whether Pakistan genuinely wanted a negotiated solution, asking whether the country’s leadership was seeking to resolve the dispute or pursuing broader strategic objectives.
“I also wish to point out that Islamabad has not responded to the numerous proposals and plans put forward by the Taliban (IEA) government, despite indicating that it agrees with them.
“In the continued absence of any constructive effort or response from Pakistan, it is time to ask an important question: Does Islamabad genuinely seek a solution and an agreement?”
Khalilzad further suggested that continued military action could indicate an effort to keep Afghanistan unstable, raising questions about whether such instability benefits foreign actors, including China, while running counter to US interests.
“Is this conflict really what Islamabad claims it is? Or is Pakistan’s security and military establishment pursuing other objectives? If so, what are those objectives?
“Is the goal to keep Afghanistan unstable?
“Is Pakistan’s security establishment being encouraged or rewarded by China to create conditions that would allow Afghanistan to fall further under Chinese influence? Or is it both?,” he asked.
Khalilzad warned that if this were the case, the consequences could include greater regional instability, an expansion of activities by extremist groups such as ISIS-Khorasan, and increased Chinese influence in Afghanistan.
Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have remained strained in recent years, with both sides accusing each other of failing to address cross-frontier security threats.
Pakistan has previously said its military operations target militant groups responsible for attacks inside its territory, while Afghan authorities have repeatedly condemned cross-Durand Line strikes as violations of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and say civilians continue to bear the brunt of the violence.
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Pakistan says Kohat attackers had roots in Afghanistan
The Islamic Emirate has repeatedly rejected Pakistan’s allegations that Afghan territory is being used to launch attacks against Pakistan.
Pakistan has accused militant groups with links to Afghanistan of carrying out Friday’s deadly attack at a mosque inside the Kohat Police Lines in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and has called on the Islamic Emirate to take concrete action against armed groups operating from Afghan territory.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said the attackers had “roots in Afghanistan” and urged the Islamic Emirate to dismantle what it described as terrorist networks and sanctuaries operating inside Afghanistan.
The attack took place during Friday prayers when an explosives-laden vehicle was rammed into the police compound near the mosque. Gunmen then attempted to enter the facility, triggering a gun battle with security forces.
The initial death toll was reported at 16, with 57 people injured. Pakistani authorities later said at least 21 people had been killed and more than 100 injured as the rescue and clearance operations continued.
Pakistan has not provided independent evidence establishing that the attack was planned from Afghanistan, but its information ministry said the presence of militant sanctuaries and support networks in Afghanistan posed a direct security threat to Pakistan. It called for “concrete and verifiable” measures against groups it accuses of planning and carrying out attacks inside Pakistan.
The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Kohat attack and expressed sympathy with the victims and their families.
The Islamic Emirate has repeatedly rejected Pakistan’s allegations that Afghan territory is being used to launch attacks against Pakistan. Afghan officials have maintained that the issue of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is an internal security matter for Pakistan.
The attack has further highlighted tensions between Kabul and Islamabad, particularly over the TTP. Pakistan accuses the group of operating from bases in Afghanistan and carrying out attacks inside Pakistan, while Afghan authorities deny providing sanctuary for attacks against neighbouring countries.
The TTP, meanwhile, has denied responsibility for the Kohat attack, although a faction of the group, identified as Ittehadul Mujahideen, later claimed responsibility, according to Al Jazeera.
The latest dispute comes amid continued cross-border tensions and a rise in militant violence in Pakistan’s northwestern regions bordering Afghanistan.
Local officials in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province have called on traders to help prevent drug trafficking and invest their capital in legal and productive sectors.
Jamaluddin Haqjo, deputy governor of Badakhshan, made the remarks during the opening of the first branch of the Bank-e-Millie Afghan in Fayzabad, the provincial capital.
Haqjo said thousands of people across Afghanistan are currently addicted to drugs and urged traders not to invest in drug trafficking.
Meanwhile, other local officials attending the ceremony called on people to contribute to the country’s economic development rather than oppose the government.
They said expanding economic activities could help reduce poverty and other challenges affecting thousands of families.
Officials also urged banks and traders to conduct their activities in accordance with Islamic principles.
The newly opened Bank-e-Millie Afghan branch is expected to provide banking services to residents of Badakhshan. Bank officials said government employees receiving their salaries through the bank would also be eligible for loan services in accordance with the bank’s policies.
Residents welcomed the opening of the branch, saying it would make banking services more accessible. They also called for banks to establish branches in remote districts of Badakhshan.
Officials urged traders and government institutions to support the bank by investing and using its services.
Seven Afghan migrants have been killed after a vehicle carrying Afghan migrants collided with a fuel-carrying vehicle in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province.
According to the human rights organization HalVash, the accident occurred on Friday in the Sarbaz area of Sistan and Baluchestan.
Siyavash Mohbi, the head of Iran’s traffic police in Sistan and Baluchestan, said the Afghan nationals had entered Iran illegally.
He added that nine other people were injured in the incident.
Mohbi attributed the accident to the negligence of the driver of the vehicle carrying the migrants.
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