Don't test Afghans; there will be dire consequences: Taliban warns Pakistan after airstrikes
Deterioration of relations will have dire consequences, Pakistan’s Ambassador in Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan was told
FollowTaliban-ruled Afghanistan has warned Pakistan not to test the morale of the Afghans after the latter carried out airstrikes on refugees in Khost and Kunar provinces.
At least 30 people, including women and children, were killed in the airstrikes carried out late Friday night. According to reports, over two dozen Pakistani aircraft targeted the villages of Mirpar, Kai, Mandeh and Shaidi in the Spura district of Khost province.
In a statement, Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, said that the 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan' strongly condemns Pakistan's attacks on refugees in the Khost and Kunar provinces. He called on the Pakistani side not to test the morale of Afghans on such issues and not to repeat the same mistake or face dire consequences.
Problems between the two countries must be resolved through political means, he added.
Earlier Taliban Foreign Ministry summons Pakistan’s Ambassador in Afghanistan Mansoor Ahmad Khan to lodge a strong protest over the airstrike.
Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told the Pakistani envoy that all military encroachments, including those in Kunar and Khost provinces, must end or it will result in the deterioration of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Deterioration of relations will have dire consequences, Muttaqi said.
An embarrassed Islamabad lodged a counter-protest, claiming that Afghanistan's soil was being used for plotting terrorist attacks inside Pakistani territory.
Even though the newly-elected Shehbaz Sharif administration refused to comment about the airstrikes in Afghanistan, Pakistani media reports said claimed that Pakistan Air Force aircraft targeted Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other militant groups in the Khost and Kunar provinces. However, Afghan media reports claimed that the bombs hit refugees from Waziristan who had settled in these provinces.
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