JAKARTA - The Afghan government has expressed its desire to resolve problems with Pakistan through "dialogue and peace," amid the latest border clashes between the two southern Asian countries.
"We have repeatedly emphasized a peaceful solution and still want this issue to be resolved through dialogue," Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said at a press conference in the city of Kandahar, Friday (27/2) as reported by Antara from Anadolu.
Mujahid said Pakistani planes were still flying over Afghanistan, hours after Islamabad launched air raids on Kabul, Kandahar and other cities.
According to Mujahid, as many as 13 Afghan soldiers were killed and 22 others were injured in clashes with Pakistan.
He added that Pakistan has so far not shown any willingness to resolve the issue through dialogue.
Mujahid claimed that as many as 55 Pakistani soldiers were killed and many others were injured in the border clashes, in addition to the destruction of 19 posts.
"We have 23 bodies of Pakistani soldiers, in addition to some who were arrested, whose number we will announce later," he said.
Furthermore, Mujahid rejected Islamabad's accusations that the Pakistani Taliban used Afghan territory to launch attacks in their country.
He stressed that Kabul remained committed to not allowing any individual or group to use its territory to attack other countries.
"Pakistan's internal war is entirely its own internal affair and not a new issue," he said.
"Our foreign policy is based on mutual respect and we do not want to take a path that harms or is hostile to anyone," he added.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have been engaged in fierce clashes since Thursday night (26/2).
The number of fatalities on both sides of the border rose to 48, including 12 Pakistani soldiers and one civilian.
Meanwhile, Kabul said 13 of its soldiers and 22 civilians were killed in the clashes.
Kabul on Thursday (26/2) announced that it had launched a border attack against Pakistan in response to Islamabad's air raid on Sunday in an Afghan region that killed many people.
Pakistan then retaliated with heavy fire and new airstrikes in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia provinces on Friday morning local time.
According to a statement from the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the country's highest diplomat, Amir Khan Muttaqi, held separate talks with Qatar's high diplomat Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi and Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan regarding the latest conflict.
The talks stressed the importance of strengthening the atmosphere of tolerance and seeking diplomatic solutions to ongoing issues, with a focus on efforts to de-escalate tensions, according to the statement.
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