Afghanistan on Thursday accused Pakistan of airstrikes causing “huge financial damages” in its Kunar Province bordering Pakistan, highlighting long-standing mistrust between the neighbors, even as both seek ways to improve security.
The incident came ahead of a visit to Kabul yesterday by Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi for talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on cooperation to halt militant attacks.
Pakistani jets on Wednesday dropped four bombs in Kunar’s Dangam district, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, without elaborating on the damage or mentioning casualties.
“Afghanistan warns that continuing violations of international norms ... will have further consequences on the relations between the two countries,” the ministry added.
However, Pakistan rejected as “baseless” the allegation that it violated Afghan airspace.
The Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affair said that its security forces were countering militant groups based in Afghanistan that launch attacks across the border.
Military officials of the two countries met in Pakistani on Thursday, where Pakistan shared details of the operations with Afghanistan, it added.
The operations took place on the Pakistani side of the border, Pakistan said.
Afghanistan should focus on plugging gaps on its side of the border and refrain from the “blame game,” the ministry said.
Afghanistan’s Western-backed government has long accused Pakistan of harboring Afghan Taliban insurgents, a charge that Islamabad denies.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of not doing enough to eradicate Pakistani Taliban militants, many of whom are based in Afghanistan and mostly carry out attacks inside Pakistan.
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