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Pakistan on Saturday refuted a statement by the British envoy for Afghanistan regarding the hostilities between Islamabad and the Afghan Taliban regime, saying the "one-sided remarks" lacked understanding of the situation.
The rebuttal comes a day after British Special Envoy to Afghanistan Richard Lindsay voiced concerns over the violence along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, including the purported strikes in the Kunar province.
In a post on X, Lindsay called for steps to protect civilians and avoid further escalation.
Responding to the social media post, FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said that the remarks were "devoid of a deeper understanding" of the situation along the border.
"Such unwarranted remarks, without linking them to the root cause of terrorism, do not offer a balanced and objective perspective," he added.
Andrabi called for a better understanding of regional dynamics, Islamabad's principled stance, and sacrifices rendered by the people of Pakistan in the fight against terrorism.
He noted that cross-border aggression and terrorist infiltration attempts from the Afghan side continued unabated "despite Pakistan's goodwill gesture of a temporary pause", announced in March.
Since then, indiscriminate and unprovoked cross-border attacks by the Afghan Taliban, and terrorist activities by Afghan Taliban-supported Indian proxies inside Pakistan, have resulted in the martyrdom of 52 civilians and 84 injuries, he said.
Andrabi maintained that Pakistan, while exercising restraint, has responded effectively by precisely targeting Afghan Taliban posts and terrorist support infrastructure, while also thwarting multiple infiltration attempts from the Afghan side.
"Afghan claims of civilian casualties due to Pakistan's responses lack evidential credibility," he said.
Pakistan has been grappling with rising terror incidents, particularly in the bordering provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021.
The current tensions between Islamabad and Kabul started after Pakistan carried out retaliatory actions against the Afghan Taliban regime and affiliated militants beginning in February.
The actions were a response to suicide bombings in Islamabad, Bajaur, and Bannu — attacks that were traced back to militants operating from inside Afghanistan.
The retaliatory actions began months after an October 2025 ceasefire that had followed brief clashes triggered by unprovoked firing by Afghan Taliban personnel at multiple points along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Islamabad, however, had agreed to an initial ceasefire at Kabul's request back then. The countries then reached a ceasefire deal in Qatar, which was mediated by Doha and Turkiye.
Under the agreement, terrorism from Afghanistan on Pakistani soil was to be stopped immediately.
However, the subsequent talks in Turkiye failed to yield an agreement, as the Afghan Taliban refused to address Islamabad’s key concern over terrorism originating from Afghan soil.
Last month, Islamabad and Kabul agreed to avoid further escalation in their armed conflict during talks hosted by China.
During the meetings, held in Urumqi from April 1 to 7, the Afghan Taliban regime agreed to avoid further escalation.
However, Kabul continues its cross-border attacks against civilians despite its pledge not to escalate tension along the border.
