Afghanistan says it wants to resolve issues with Pakistan through 'dialogue'

KARACHI, Pakistan / ISTANBUL

The Afghan government on Friday said it wants to resolve issues with Pakistan through "dialogue and peace,” amid the latest border clashes between the two neighbors.

"We have repeatedly emphasized a peaceful solution and still want the problem to be resolved through dialogue," Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a news conference in southern Kandahar city.

Mujahid said Pakistani aircraft were “still flying over Afghanistan,” hours after Islamabad launched air strikes on Kabul and Kandahar and other cities.

According to Mujahid, 13 Afghan troops were killed and another 22 were injured in clashes with Pakistan.

Pakistan, he further said, has “shown no willingness to resolve issues through dialogue.”

He claimed that 55 Pakistani soldiers have been killed and many others injured in the border clashes, with 19 posts destroyed.

"We have 23 dead bodies of Pakistani soldiers, in addition to some captured, whose number we will announce later," he claimed.

Mujahid rejected Islamabad's accusations that the Pakistani Taliban are using Afghan soil to carry out attacks inside the country, saying Kabul still stands by its commitment of not allowing any individual or group to use its soil against any country.

“Pakistan's internal war is entirely its internal matter and not a new issue,” he said.

"Our foreign policy is based on mutual respect, and we do not wish to pursue a path of harm and enmity against anyone," he added.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have seen fierce clashes since Thursday night.

The death toll on two sides of the border climbed to 48. They include 12 Pakistani soldiers and one civilian, while Kabul said 13 of its soldiers and 22 civilians lost their lives during the clashes.

Kabul on Thursday announced it launched border attacks against Pakistan over airstrikes on Sunday by Islamabad inside Afghanistan, which left many dead. Pakistan responded with heavy fire and fresh airstrikes in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia provinces early Friday.

According to statements from Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry, top diplomat Amir Khan Muttaqi held separate calls with Qatari top diplomat Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan on the recent conflict.

The talks focused on stressing the importance of strengthening an atmosphere of tolerance and pursuing diplomatic solutions to ongoing issues, focusing on reducing the tensions, according to the statements.