Pakistan dismisses Afghan minister’s allegation of permitting US to make use of its airspace for drone assaults

Pakistan has rejected allegations by the Taliban’s performing defence minister about using its airspace by the US for drone assaults in Afghanistan, saying his remarks had been “highly regrettable” and defied the “norms of responsible diplomatic conduct.”

The allegations had been made by Mohammad Yaqoob on Sunday, practically a month after al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri was killed by a missile fired from a CIA drone towards his hideout in central Kabul on July 31.

The assault was the primary identified strike by the US on a goal in Afghanistan since Washington withdrew its forces from the war-torn nation on August 31 final 12 months.

Yaqoob instructed reporters in Kabul that US drones have been coming into Afghanistan through Pakistan’s airspace.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmed mentioned in an in a single day assertion that Pakistan has famous, with deep concern, the allegation by the Acting Defence Minister of Afghanistan concerning using Pakistan’s air area within the US counter-terrorism drone operation in Afghanistan.

“In the absence of any evidence, as acknowledged by the Afghan Minister himself, such conjectural allegations are highly regrettable and defy the norms of responsible diplomatic conduct,” he mentioned.

Pakistan reaffirmed its perception within the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states and mentioned that it condemns terrorism in all its kinds and manifestations.

“We urge the Afghan interim authorities to ensure the fulfilment of international commitments made by Afghanistan not to allow the use of its territory for terrorism against any country,” the spokesperson mentioned.

Pakistani authorities have beforehand denied involvement within the US drone strike it carried out in Kabul that killed 71-year-old Zawahiri.
Border tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have risen because the Taliban seized energy final 12 months, with Islamabad claiming militant teams are finishing up common assaults from the neighbouring nation.