ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has ruled out any talks with Afghanistan until an end to “terrorism” emanating from the Afghan soil, officials said on Friday, following the killing of more than 330 Afghan fighters in cross-border clashes this week.
The latest clashes between the neighbors erupted after Pakistan’s airstrikes on Afghan territory last weekend triggered Afghan retaliatory attacks along the border on Thursday, escalating long‑simmering tensions over Pakistan’s claim that Afghanistan shelters Pakistani Taliban militants. Afghanistan denies this and argues Pakistan is deflecting blame for its own security failures.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said they had killed 331 Afghan fighters, destroyed over 100 posts and targeted 37 military locations across Afghanistan. Afghan officials have said that more than 50 Pakistani soldiers have been killed and several Pakistan posts have been captured by their forces. None of the casualty figures or battlefield claims from either side could be independently verified.
Meanwhile, Mosharraf Zaidi, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesperson for foreign media, ruled out any talks with Afghanistan until Kabul addresses the issue as the United States (US) expressed his support for what it called Pakistan’s “right to defend itself” against attacks from Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers.
