PESHAWAR: The Afghan foreign ministry acknowledged tensions on the border with Pakistan, saying the Taliban want to resolve border issue diplomatically.
On Wednesday, Taliban Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said in a statement that “IEA believing in addressing problems through understanding, talks and good neighborliness, will address this issue through diplomatic channels.” Balkhi further said that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan believes in resolving the issue through dialogue as good neighbours.
Read more:
PM Imran urges Islamic world to support Afghanistan
ICG: Over 1mn Afghans could die because of starvation
Taliban launches ‘food for work’ program to fight hunger
Pakistan had started fencing the border with Afghanistan to prevent the entry of militants and other criminals from Afghanistan as the security officials believe that it is difficult to monitor the 2300 kilometre long border round the clock. The government has so far spent billions of rupees on fencing the border and constructing checkpoints on its western border.
However, recently, the Taliban armed men have removed the barbed wire in some areas. On December 19, the Taliban fighters stopped the Pakistani soldiers from erecting the fence in the eastern province of Nangarhar. The second incident occurred on December 30, when the Pakistani army was fencing the border in Balochistan near Afghanstan’s Nimroz province. However, the Taliban want to resolve border issue diplomatically.
The Afghan Taliban have also shared videos on social media while removing the barbed wire. The videos have been followed by statements from the Afghan Taliban stating that they do not recognize the international border with Pakistan. Pakistani officials remained silent on the matter until Sunday, but on Monday Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi released statement on Monday.
During a press conference on Monday this week, Foreign Minister Qureshi said that both the countries have not ignored the incidents and efforts are underway to resolve the issues through diplomatic channels. He further said that Pakistan and Afghanistan are aware of the situation. “We are looking into the matter at the diplomatic level and will safeguard Pakistan’s interests,” Qureshi said.