Pakistan has rejected the Taliban’s performing protection minister’s allegations in regards to the US’s use of its airspace for drone strikes in Afghanistan, saying his remarks had been “extremely regrettable” and violated “norms of responsible diplomatic conduct”. .
Mohammad Yacoub made the allegations on Sunday, practically a month after al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by a missile fired from a CIA drone in opposition to his base in central Kabul on July 31.
The US strike on a goal in Afghanistan was the primary identified assault since Washington withdrew its forces from the war-torn nation on August 31 final yr.
Yakub informed reporters in Kabul that US drones had been getting into Afghanistan from Pakistani airspace.
Foreign Office spokesman Asim Iftikhar Ahmed stated in an in a single day assertion that Pakistan notes with deep concern the allegation by Afghanistan’s Acting Defense Minister of utilizing Pakistan’s airspace in US counter-terrorist drone operations in Afghanistan.
“In the absence of any evidence, as acknowledged by the Afghan minister himself, such presumptive allegations are deeply regrettable and defy the norms of responsible diplomatic conduct,” he stated.
Pakistan reaffirmed its perception within the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states and stated that it condemns terrorism in all its kinds and manifestations.
“We urge Afghanistan’s interim authorities to ensure that Afghanistan fulfills its international commitments not to allow its territory to be used for terrorism against any country,” the spokesman stated.
Pakistani officers have beforehand denied involvement within the US drone strike in Kabul that killed 71-year-old Zawahiri.
Tensions on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan have escalated for the reason that Taliban got here to energy final yr, with Islamabad claiming that militant teams are finishing up common assaults from the neighboring nation.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
