Khalilzad says Pakistan border strikes are deepening crisis between the two countries
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US special envoy for Afghanistan peace, said in response to Pakistan’s recent bombing of border areas in Afghanistan that continuing this approach would not solve the problem and would only deepen the crisis for people in both countries.
Referring to Pakistan’s continued border attacks, he said Islamabad had chosen measures that were making the situation more complicated instead of addressing its own deep internal challenges. Khalilzad added: “When someone falls into a pit, the wisest thing to do is stop digging; but Islamabad’s current course shows that Pakistan’s leadership has no desire to change strategy, and this approach means worse news for the people of both countries.”
On Monday morning, Pakistani military aircraft struck parts of Kunar and Paktika provinces. According to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), several civilians were killed and wounded in the attacks.
Following the incident, the Taliban administration summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires in Kabul and, according to officials from the administration, delivered a strongly worded protest note to him. The move came after the latest border strikes once again heightened tensions between Kabul and Islamabad.
In recent months, Pakistan has faced rising insecurity, economic problems and domestic political tensions. According to Iraf, some regional analysts believe Pakistani officials are trying to divert public attention from their security failures by attributing internal insecurity to Afghan soil.
Earlier, mediation efforts by several regional countries, including Qatar, Turkey and China, to reduce border tensions between Kabul and Islamabad had also failed to produce results. Those efforts stalled while, according to the report, Pakistan insisted on unilateral military action.
Kunar in eastern Afghanistan and Paktika in the southeast are among the provinces close to the Durand Line, areas that have repeatedly witnessed clashes and border tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan in recent years.
