Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday confirmed that Afghanistan issued a demarche to Islamabad’s ambassador in Kabul, after they alleged that Pakistan carried out drone strikes across the border.
At least three people were killed and seven wounded in two separate incidents in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar and Khost provinces, which Afghan authorities claimed were strikes carried out by Pakistan. There was no official word from Islamabad, and Afghan authorities did not provide any evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in the incidents.
Fielding questions after a press briefing in Islamabad today, Dar said that he had just returned from travelling and was still “going through the system”. However, he added that had received a copy of the letter to Pakistan’s ambassador but did not elaborate on why it was issued.
“I’m still going through the system, but they handed our ambassador a letter, which is called a demarche,” the foreign minister said. “This needs investigation, to look into the situation and why it is happening … right now, it’s too early to say anything.”
He did not respond to the question whether Pakistan was involved in the alleged strikes.
Replying to another question, Dar said that Islamabad had “only one ask” from Kabul, that being to either handle the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and not let its soil be used for terrorist attacks in Pakistan.
“We asked them ‘please take these people away from our borders or hand them over to us, whatever you choose’,” Dar said.
“Their development and stability is in our interest. Imagine what a massive mutual benefit there will be once the railroad gets off the ground,” he said, referring to the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan Railway project.
“Once the railway system is complete, you will have connectivity with these Central Asian states, it’ll be a different ballgame.”
The foreign minister said he has no doubts regarding Kabul’s intentions and noted its intention to cooperate with Pakistan.
“During my bilateral meeting with [Acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi], I said ‘this is a bilateral border and a very large one, please do what you can to control your side’. There is no resistance there.”
Islamabad has repeatedly warned Kabul to prevent its soil from being used to stage attacks in Pakistan, and that it is fully capable of targeting terrorists who carry out such attacks.
Earlier this month, Pakistan, China and Afghanistan committed themselves to bolstering joint efforts against the menace of terrorism and deepening their collaboration in key spheres.
“The three sides committed to strengthening joint efforts against terrorism. They also reaffirmed their commitment to deepening collaboration in trade, transit, regional development, health, education, culture, and combating drug trafficking, as well as extension of CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) to Afghanistan,” the Foreign Office (FO) had said regarding the meeting.
Before the meeting, Dar met Muttaqi on the sidelines and the two men are said to have noted the positive movement in political and economic ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan. They also reaffirmed their commitment to working closely on counter-terrorism and ensuring peace and stability in the region.