Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister and Taliban leader Amir Khan Muttaqi said on Sunday that while his country does not want conflict with Pakistan, it has “other means” if peace efforts fail, The Indian Express reported.
“The policy of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is to resolve all problems through discussion and understanding,” Muttaqi, who is on a six-day visit to India, said. “We want to have zero tension and if they don’t want that, then Afghanistan has other means.”
Commenting on the exchange of fire between the Taliban and Pakistani forces along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border on Saturday, Muttaqi said the situation was now under control, The Indian Express reported.
The Taliban regime claimed that the group had killed 58 Pakistani soldiers in the overnight clashes and captured 25 Pakistani Army posts. Pakistan is yet to comment on the claim about the deaths.
The clashes occurred two days after the Taliban blamed Pakistan for blasts that took place in Kabul. Islamabad did not take responsibility for the blasts on October 9.
The Afghan foreign minister on Sunday maintained that people in Pakistan, as well as most elements in the government, wanted peace, but a “specific section” was trying to exacerbate the situation, according to The Indian Express.
His remarks came a day after Pakistan summoned the Taliban’s ambassador in Islamabad to convey its “strong reservations” over the India-Afghanistan joint statement issued in New Delhi. Pakistan had objected to references in the statement to Jammu and Kashmir being a part of India, and to Muttaqi’s assertion that terrorism is an internal problem of Pakistan.
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