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Pakistan’s special envoy updates PM on Kabul
Khan was in Kabul when the Pakistan Air Force conducted airstrikes in eastern Paktika province on December 24.
Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, Muhammad Sadiq Khan, on Monday met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to brief him on his recent visit to Kabul.
Khan and his delegation visited Kabul last week and met with senior Islamic Emirate leaders and acting ministers, including acting Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Kabir, acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, acting Commerce Minister Nooruddin Azizi, and other senior officials and traders.
“Muhammad Sadiq Khan briefed the Prime Minister regarding his recent visit to Afghanistan,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.
Khan was in Kabul when the Pakistan Air Force conducted airstrikes in eastern Paktika province on December 24, with IEA officials accusing Islamabad of violating its territory on the one hand and talking peace on the other.
On Tuesday night, IEA claimed that the Pakistani military carried out airstrikes, the second such cross-border action by Islamabad since March, in the Barmal district of eastern Paktika province.
The IEA deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat, the next day, said the bombing by Pakistani jets killed 46 people, including women and children, and injured six others. He added houses were also destroyed.
On Thursday, Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch also confirmed airstrikes inside Afghanistan, killing “terrorists.”
She said the operation was carried out “based on threats to the security of Pakistani citizens” and rejected the reports Pakistan targeted children and women.
However, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said Thursday it received “credible” reports that dozens of civilians, including women and children, were killed in airstrikes by Pakistan’s military forces in eastern Paktika province.
On Saturday the Afghan Defense Ministry said its forces conducted attacks inside Pakistani territory targeting “miscreants’ hideouts.”
However, the ministry did not explain “miscreants” or provide additional information about the casualties and locations targeted within Pakistani territory.