KABUL, Oct 15: Taliban Deputy Foreign Minister Naeem Wardak has slammed Pakistan’s recent airstrikes in Afghanistan, calling it a “cowardly and cruel” attack, during his meeting with China’s ambassador to Kabul, Zhao Xing.
Wardak said the attacks violated “all human, Islamic, and neighbourly principles,” adding that the Taliban had delivered an “appropriate response”.
In a statement issued after the meeting, the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry said Wardak is said to have urged peace with Islamabad, and emphasised that “war is not a solution” and that the Taliban administration seeks “good and positive relations with all neighbouring countries”.
The Chinese ambassador’s visit was reportedly aimed at easing tensions between the two sides, and ensuring the safety of Chinese workers in the region, as he urged both sides to resolve their differences through dialogue, stressing the importance of regional stability.
Wardak reiterated that the Taliban remains committed to peaceful engagement but warned: “If anyone violates our rights and values, the Afghan nation considers it its legitimate right to defend them, and will do so with dignity.”
The meeting came amid heightened tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan following cross-border airstrikes and armed clashes in recent days, with a fierce exchange taking place between the Afghan Taliban and the Pakistan Rangers in the Sarlat area of Shorabak district in Kandahar province on Oct 14 night.
While neither side commented on the clash, these reportedly involved the deployment of light and heavy weaponry, ranging from light machine guns to heavy gun turrets, and rocket launchers.
Hours earlier, Bilal Karimi, the Taliban’s ambassador to China, in a now-deleted post on X had described Pakistan’s leadership as a “satanic circle”, calling the leadership a threat to regional stability.
Karimi further called the Pakistani deep state akin to “a cancerous tumour against peace and stability in the region.”
He accused Islamabad’s leadership of “holding its own people hostage” and turning Pakistan into “a playground for ISIS, drug trafficking, and other dangerous games.”
(UNI)
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