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Kabul Truck Bombers ‘Likely Came From Pakistan’: PM Abbasi
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has said the bombers behind the deadly truck attack in Kabul’s diplomatic zone in May that killed at least 150 people, were “likely to have come from Pakistan.”
“I don’t know all the details, but it seems three or four people crossed over the border. There was a vehicle which traveled from that area to Kabul and was parked in an embassy compound before it blew up,” Abbasi said in an interview with Financial Times published on Sunday.
“We have 250,000 troops fighting there, but we don’t have control of the full area. [Militants] often cross the border from the other side and attack our people. If the Afghan army cannot control them, and U.S. forces cannot control them, what are we supposed to do?” he added.
Pakistani Prime Minister also warned the U.S. that it risks fueling terrorism in the region and undermining military efforts in Afghanistan if the Trump administration follows through with a threat to downgrade its relationship with Islamabad.
Just days after the Financial Times revealed that the U.S. was considering stripping Pakistan of its status as an ally because of a perceived failure to tackle terrorism, Abbasi said the hardline approach risked backfiring.
Abbasi also threatened to drop the U.S. as supplier of military aircraft to apply pressure on its ally. Pakistan currently buys F-16 fighter jets, which are made by American company Lockheed Martin and have become the mainstay of the Pakistani air force.
“We would like to buy more F16s, but we do have other options,” said Abbasi. “We have a long relationship with both the French and the Chinese, and we have been developing the JF-17 alongside the Chinese, which in may ways meets or even exceeds the specifications of the F16,” he added.
He did not go into details about which other measures Pakistan might take. But Financial Times cited a person close to Pakistani army as saying that: “We could make it harder for the US to use supply routes through Pakistan to serve its troops in Afghanistan, and we could stop co-operating on drone attacks. That would make the war in Afghanistan a lot more difficult.”
Abbasi, meanwhile, told Finacial Times that he found the U.S. new policy for Afghanistan and South Asia “confusing”, and he had to rely on media reports to find out what President Donald Trump’s plans were for the region.
“The signals we get from Washington are confusing, but our message is very clear: we are committed to fighting terror and we will continue to fight terror,” he said.
“All it will do [if the US downgrades Pakistan as an ally] is degrade our efforts to fight terror, and I am not sure if that will work for the US,” he added.
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IEA’s foreign ministry summons Pakistan’s charge d’affaires over airstrike
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has summoned Pakistan’s charge d’affaires over Islamabad’s airstrike inside Afghanistan in the early hours of Monday morning.
The ministry presented the charge d’affaires with a letter of protest and advised the new civilian government to curb anti-Afghanistan actions and to not ‘complicate’ relations between the two Muslim countries.
The ministry also condemned the airstrikes, in Paktika and Khost, and warned Islamabad it has a long history of fighting foreign powers and that it will not tolerate military action on its territory.
The ministry said in a statement that Pakistan’s new civilian government and the people of Pakistan should not allow some circles to complicate the relations between the two neighboring Muslim countries.
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Bayat Foundation steps in to help needy families over Ramadan
Dozens of needy families in Herat province received much needed Ramadan aid packages on Monday from Bayat Foundation.
According to Bayat Foundation officials, a transparent assessment was carried out on people in need before the aid was distributed.
The packages included flour, rice and cooking oil. The foundation will carry this initiative through to other provinces during the holy month of Ramadan.
Officials said poverty and unemployment in the country has resulted in more people needing assistance.
Recipients of this aid welcomed the initiative and called on other organizations to also help the needy.
Over the past 20 years, the Bayat Foundation has carried out countless campaigns to help the needy across the country. The foundation is also actively involved in education and health – with the aim of helping the needy in Afghanistan.
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Border forces target military posts along Durand Line in response to airstrikes
The Ministry of National Defense of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) said Monday morning that border forces targeted Pakistan “military centers” along the Durand Line in response to airstrikes against civilian homes in Paktika and Khost provinces.
In the early hours of Monday morning, Pakistan carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan, hitting residential houses in Spera district in Khost and Bermel district in Paktika.
At least eight people were killed – five women and three children.
Inayatullah Khwarazmi, the defense ministry’s spokesperson said on X: “In response to this aggression, the border forces targeted Pakistan’s military centers along the Durand line with heavy weapons.”
Khwarazmi added that the country’s defense and security forces are ready to respond to any aggressive actions and will defend their territorial integrity.
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