Notably, the airstrikes come on a day when a Pakistani delegation has already arrived in Doha, Qatarโs capital, while the Afghan delegation was expected to join them on Saturday.
Pakistan on Friday launched fresh airstrikes in several districts of Afghanistanโs Paktika province hours after Islamabad and Kabul extended their 48-hour ceasefire,ย TOLO Newsย reported.
Pakistani forces target residential areas
The report further claimed that Pakistani forces targeted residential areas in the Argun and Barmal districts of Paktika province, which lies along the Durand Line. However, no casualties have been confirmed so far from the airstrikes.
After the airstrikes from Pakistan, a senior Taliban official said that the truce between the two sides have been broken.
Notably, the airstrikes come on a day when a Pakistani delegation has already arrived in Doha, Qatarโs capital, while the Afghan delegation was expected to join them on Saturday.
Escalation in conflict comes despite extended ceasefire
This escalation in the regional conflict comes despite an extended ceasefire between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which was meant to remain in place until the conclusion of the Doha negotiationsโan effort aimed at easing border tensions, the news outlet said, citing sources.
Earlier, Pakistan launched an airstrike on the Afghan border province of Kandahar and hit the town of Spin Boldak, officials in both countries said.
Khawaja Asif says Pakistan can no longer afford relations with Afghanistan
In the meantime, Pakistan Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said his country can no longer afford relations with Afghanistan as in the past as he threatened to exact a heavy price from wherever terrorism originated against his country.
“Pakistan can no longer afford to maintain relations with Kabul as it did in the past,” Asif said in a social media post. All Afghans residing on Pakistani soil must return to their homeland; they now have their own government/caliphate in Kabul…Our land and resources belong to 250 million Pakistanis,” he said.
His comments came as the deadline for the 48-hour ceasefire ended at 6 pm local time. However, media reports said that the ceasefire was extended as representatives of the two sides were set to meet in Doha, Qatar, to find a solution to the current tension.
Asif said that despite Pakistan’s efforts and sacrifices over five years, there has been no positive response from Kabul. “Pakistan issued 836 protest notes to the Afghan side and another 13 demarches,โ he said.
Also Read:ย
Sharif says Pakistan ready for peace talks with Afghanistan, but only on ‘legitimate conditions’