BEIJING/ ISLAMABAD: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi in a phone call that disputes between Afghanistan and Pakistan should be resolved through dialogue and consultation, not force, the foreign ministry said in a statement published on Friday.
Wang urged both sides to remain calm and exercise restraint, hold face-to-face talks as soon as possible, seek an immediate ceasefire and address differences through dialogue, according to the statement.
The further use of force would only complicate the situation and intensify tensions, Wang said.
Wang and Muttaqi also exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East involving hostilities between US-Israel and Iran, the communique said.
The Chinese foreign minister told his Afghan counterpart, according to the statement, that Beijing is willing to work with the international community, including Afghanistan, to bring peace to Iran.
Meanwhile, the media wing of Pakistan Army said that drones launched by the Afghan Taliban on Friday were intercepted through soft and hard kills and did not reach their intended targets.
However, the debris from these drones resulted in injuries to two children in Quetta and a civilian each in Kohat and Rawalpindi, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Saturday.
On 13 March, Afghan Taliban launched a few rudimentary drones to harass the brave people of Pakistan, it said.
The statement mentioned that attacks were aimed at inducing fear in the public and remind us of the terrorist mindset which drives the Afghan Taliban.
Pakistan’s Operation Ghazab Lil-Haq shall continue till the Afghan Taliban address Pakistan’s core concern with respect to terrorism originating from the Afghan soil.
Pakistan’s Armed Forces stand steadfast in the fight against terrorism and its manifestations, like the drone attacks by Afghan Taliban. “We shall keep defending the people of Pakistan against terrorists and their facilitators and shall not flinch in the face of such provocations by the Afghan Taliban,” the military media wing said.
Earlier, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MOIB) said the lies and propaganda of the so-called Ministry of Defence of the Afghan Taliban regime have been exposed once again.
The ministry said that this latest claim of the so-called Ministry of Defence of Afghan Taliban regime regarding capturing some posts and made-up damages, etc., is false as always, fabricated and designed to mislead the Afghan internal public opinion.
“There is absolutely no truth in the claims of occupation of Pakistani posts and the figures of losses presented by the Afghan Taliban regime,” the ministry said in a statement issued here.
It emphasised that these are false stories fabricated to fool the Afghan people, who are already suffering due to the Afghan Taliban regime, which is supporting terrorists.
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry said it is presenting timely and regular reports on the losses of Afghan Taliban and their proxy Fitna al-Khwarij. It was noted that wherever necessary, pictures and videos are also being provided to the media and false propaganda is not being resorted to like the Afghan Taliban regime. The media is being given a boost to credible reports of targeting terrorist hideouts inside Afghanistan.
“The repeated false claims made by the Afghan Taliban regime are a madman’s dream that exists only on the Afghan Taliban regime and Indian social media accounts and have no connection to reality,” it was emphasised.
The Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Attaullah Tarar, has also in a message on his social media account, said that another false claim by Afghan Taliban regime has been exposed by “FactCheckerMOIB”.
“These false claims have no basis or foundation. On the other hand, all the damages and losses being incurred by the Afghan Taliban and their extension Fitna Al Khwarij are updated by Ministry of Information with irrefutable pictorial and video evidence regularly,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari has strongly condemned the rudimentary drone attacks carried out by the Afghan Taliban elements aimed at targeting civilian areas in Pakistan.
The president stated that the illegitimate regime in Afghanistan, installed by terror and brute force, continues to renege on its commitments not to provide safe sanctuaries to terrorist groups. He added that the regime now has the audacity to provoke a major military power of the Islamic world.
According to a statement issued by the Aiwan-e-Sadr, President Zardari said that while the Afghan terrorist regime seeks negotiations with Pakistan’s friendly countries, it crossed a red line by attempting to target our civilians. This comes at a time when Pakistan remains engaged in efforts to promote peace and stability in the Gulf region and West Asia.
The president asserted that the illegitimate and terrorist Taliban regime has brought grave consequences upon itself by crossing this red line. He expressed his best wishes for the speedy recovery of children and other civilians injured by drone debris in Quetta, Kohat and Rawalpindi.
He also reaffirmed that Pakistan’s armed forces and security institutions remain fully committed to the defence of the country and protection of its people.
Meanwhile, responding to media queries regarding Pakistan’s response to the statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs of India, the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tahir Andrabi, stated the following: “The remarks by the spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs of India regarding Pakistan’s legitimate, targeted and precise actions against terrorist hideouts and support bases inside Afghanistan are not only absurd and unwarranted but also shamefully hypocritical.
“India’s active support and sponsorship of terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil, including Fitna-al-Khwarij and Fitna-al-Hindustan, are well known. Therefore, India’s frustration at the destruction of its terrorist franchise in Afghanistan, as reflected in such statements, is quite understandable.
“India, a serial violator of human rights and international law, continues to illegally occupy Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in violation of the UN Charter and relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and has been responsible for perpetrating state terrorism in the occupied territory. Guided by Hindutva extremist ideology, it also continues to systematically marginalise its minorities, spread Islamophobia, and has even weaponised water in contravention of its treaty obligations. India has not only played the role of a spoiler in Afghanistan, but also in the entire region. “With such shameful credentials, India is in no position to make such statements and must instead focus on refraining from stoking terrorism inside Pakistan from Afghan soil. “For its part, Pakistan remains determined to take all appropriate actions in self-defence and to protect its citizens in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter.”
