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Pakistan denies VP Saleh’s claims of backing Taliban
Pakistan has rejected Vice President Amrullah Saleh’s claim that Islamabad has warned Kabul against conducting any airstrikes against the Taliban militants close to its border in southern Kandahar province.
Pakistan Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “such statements undermine Pakistan’s sincere efforts to play its part in an Afghan-owned and Afghan-led solution.”
VP Saleh said Friday that the Pakistan air force has issued an official warning to the Afghan Army and Air Force that any move to dislodge the Taliban from the Spin Boldak area will be faced and repelled by the Pakistan Air Force.
“Pakistan air force is now providing close air support to Taliban in certain areas,” Saleh said.
He noted that the Afghan aircrafts as far as 10 kilometers from the Spin Boldak were warned: “to back off or face air to air missiles.”
“Afghanistan is too big to be swallowed,” Saleh warned.
Hours after Saleh’s claims, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry in a statement said: “The Afghan side conveyed to Pakistan its intention of carrying out air operation inside its territory opposite Chaman Sector of Pakistan. Pakistan responded positively to Afghan Government’s right to act in its territory.”
“In spite of very close border operations normally not acceded to by internationally accepted norms/standards/procedures, Pakistan took necessary measures within its territory to safeguard our own troops and population,” the statement said.
Pakistan stated that Islamabad acknowledges Afghan Government’s right to undertake actions on its sovereign territory.
“However, as alleged by the Afghan Vice President, Pakistan Air Force never communicated anything to the Afghan Air Force,” Pakistan said.
Right after in response to Pakistan’s rejection first Vice President Amrullah Saleh said again that:” For over 20 years Pakistan denied the existence of Quetta Shura or presence of Talib terrorist leaders in its soil.”
“Those familiar with this pattern, Afghan or foreign, know exactly that issuing a statement of denial is just a pre-written paragraph,” he tweeted.
This comes two days after Taliban fighters claimed that they had seized control of the Spin Boldak crossing area between Afghan and Pakistan territory.
Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, Nooruddin Azizi, and Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, met on Saturday to address ongoing trade and transit challenges, stressing the importance of preventing political tensions from impacting economic ties, the ministry said in a statement.
The two officials focused on finalizing the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and resolving issues related to the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA), the statement read.
The meeting also discussed the upcoming visit of Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister to Afghanistan and a planned visit by an Islamic Emirate delegation to Pakistan.
The ministry hailed Sadiq’s visit to Kabul as a positive step, with Azizi emphasizing its constructive role in enhancing bilateral trade relations.
Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Mohammad Sadiq met on Saturday and discussed bilateral relations, political and economic cooperation, security and transit, said Zia Ahmad Takal, head of public relations at Foreign Ministry in a statement.
In this meeting, Muttaqi emphasized that obstacles to trade and transit are not in anyone’s interest and that certain issues should not be linked together.
He added that the process of Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan should be carried out gradually and with dignity.
According to the statement, Pakistan’s special representative also acknowledged that ensuring security in Afghanistan benefits both Pakistan and the region.
He committed to introducing measures to facilitate the visa issuance process for Afghan citizens.
Mohammad Sadiq also stated that practical steps will be taken to resolve existing trade and transit challenges.
The Afghan embassy in Oslo will resume consular services on coming Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul announced Saturday.
The ministry said in a statement that the resumption of consular services in Norway was a “positive step.”
In August last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul declared the consular services of Afghan missions in 14 Western countries including Norway to be invalid.
The statement cited corruption, lack of transparency and non-coordination with the ministry as reasons for the closure.
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