The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) said on Sunday that tensions between Pakistan’s government and the opposition have reached a worrying level and could have a negative impact on the entire region.

In a statement on X, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi said the best way to meet the "legitimate demands of the people" was to hold negotiations.

He noted that recent events have proven that refusing to negotiate complicates the issue.

Balkhi said the Islamic Emirate was closely monitoring the situation in Pakistan, hoping that the Pakistani government and its influential institutions would behave reasonably and realistically in the face of growing discontent.

Supporters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan have rallied in Islamabad to push for Khan’s release as the police blocked roads, cut off mobile internet and fired tear gas to deter the protesters.  Dozens of police personnel have been injured in clashes with protestors.

Afghanistan has seen a record high number of international flights passing through its airspace in the past week, amid escalating tension in West Asia.

The spike came after Iran launched a massive missile attack on Israel last week, which led to flights diverting and flying over Afghanistan. 

According to The Independent, a record 191 flights passed over Afghanistan, each one paying the Islamic Emirate $700 for the privilege. 

The Independent reported that these flights included British Airways, Lufthansa, and Swiss Air planes.

FlightRadar24 recorded an average of 147 flights per day through Afghan airspace between 19 and 30 September, not including journeys that started or finished in Afghanistan itself.

The number went up to 171 on Tuesday when Iran launched 180 missiles against Israel. And on Thursday and Friday, this number went up to 191, The Independent reported.

Speaking to the publication, FlightRadar24’s spokesperson Ian Petchenik said, "We’re seeing aircraft that would normally transit through Iran make use of Afghanistan airspace now."

"As we start to see more and more airspace restrictions (in West Asia), airlines are making a trade-off or a calculated decision on risk – is this a safe method of operation? And is it safer than the alternative that still allows us to operate these flights?” Petchenik added.

The Afghan airspace has been largely avoided by international flights since the Islamic Emirate regained power in August 2021.

But the number of flights has steadily gone up since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7 last year and the escalating conflict in parts of Middle East and West Asia.

Speaking to Reuters, a spokesperson from FlightRadar24 said that international flights diverted “anywhere they could,” and a snapshot of traffic in the region showed flights spreading in wide arcs to the north and south, with many converging on Cairo and Istanbul.

On Tuesday, about 80 flights, operated by the likes of Emirates, British Airways, Lufthansa, and Qatar Airways and bound for major Middle East hubs such as Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi, were diverted to places such as Cairo and European cities, its data showed.

The special representatives of China, Iran, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and India met on Saturday with Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on the sidelines of the 6th Moscow Format meeting, said Zia Ahmad Takal, deputy spokesman for the ministry.

Takal said in a statement that bilateral political relations and economic cooperation between Afghanistan and the region's countries were discussed in these meetings.

Muttaqi stated that Afghanistan's security situation is reliable and its security is in the interest of all countries in the region.

He emphasized the development of economic, commercial and investment cooperation between Afghanistan and related countries.

The envoys, meanwhile, stressed increasing interaction and all-round cooperation with Afghanistan and described the situation in Afghanistan as reliable.