KABUL: Pakistan’s embassy in Kabul said Sunday it was indefinitely closing its consular office in the Afghan capital due to security reasons, amid mounting tensions between the neighboring countries.
Closure of the visa section will come as a huge blow for many Afghans, hundreds of whom apply daily for permits to travel to Pakistan where they seek medical treatment, goods and university educations.
A message shared on WhatsApp by an embassy spokesman said the consular section would be closed as of Monday “until further intimation.”
The spokesman told AFP that the consular section typically processes about 1,500 visa applications a day.
In Islamabad, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said the Afghan charge d’affaires had been summoned to “convey serious concerns over the safety and security of the diplomatic personnel of the embassy of Pakistan, Kabul, and its sub-missions.”
In a statement, the ministry said embassy staff were being harassed.
“They were obstructed on the road and the embassy vehicles were also hit by motorcycles while going toward the embassy,” the statement read.
Protests outside the Pakistani embassy are common, sometimes triggered by people unhappy about visa wait times or security while standing in long queues.
Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, both Islamic republics, have long been fraught, with Afghans blaming Islamabad for any number of woes including allegedly supporting the Taliban.
Pakistan denies it helps the insurgent group.
Tensions have soured further in recent days amid clashes along the border in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Kunar.
Both sides have accused each other’s troops of cross-border shelling.
The Pakistani foreign ministry has said six Pakistani troops were wounded October 27 and 28 in “unprovoked mortar and heavy weapon firing” by Afghan soldiers.
Pakistani consular services remain open in Herat, Jalalabad and Mazar-i-Sharif, according to the embassy spokesman, who recommended that applicants travel to Jalalabad if they needed a visa urgently.
Pakistan embassy in Kabul closes visa section amid tensions
Pakistan embassy in Kabul closes visa section amid tensions
- Consular office was closed citing security reasons amid mounting tensions between the two countries
- Consular section typically processes 1,500 visas a day, spokesman says
Pakistan army hits Afghan Taliban drone storage facility, ammunition depot in Jalalabad
- Around 435 Afghan Taliban fighters killed, over 630 injured in Pakistani military offensive, minister says
- Several countries, global bodies have urged both sides to exercise restraint since the conflict began last week
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s army struck a drone storage facility and ammunition depot of Afghan Taliban in Jalalabad, a Pakistani security official said on Monday, following Pakistani strikes on more than 50 locations in Afghanistan amid ongoing hostilities between the neighbors.
Pakistan launched Operation ‘Ghazb lil Haq’ against Afghanistan on the night of Feb. 26 following an attack by Afghanistan on Pakistani military installations along their shared border.
The worst fighting between the two neighbors in years erupted after Pakistani airstrikes targeted what Islamabad called militant hideouts inside Afghanistan on Feb. 21-22, accusing Kabul of harboring Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants behind the attacks on its soil. Afghanistan denies the charge.
A Pakistani security official, who requested anonymity, said the army was continuing “strong retaliatory action” against the Afghan Taliban and blew up multiple border posts, forcing them to abandon their positions.
“Pakistan forces are effectively targeting the bases and military installations of the Fitna Al-Khawarij and the Afghan Taliban,” he said.
“During the effective counter-operation of the Pakistani forces, the ammunition depot and drone storage site of Fitna Al-Khawarij (TTP) and the Afghan Taliban in Jalalabad was destroyed.”
Separately, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said more than 400 Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed and over 630 wounded in the Pakistani military offensive so far.
Pakistan destroyed around 188 check posts and captured 31, according to a post on X by Tarar. Over 180 tanks, armored vehicles and artillery guns were also destroyed in Pakistani air raids at 51 locations across Afghanistan.
On Sunday, Pakistani state media shared a video of what it said were Pakistani soldiers crossing into Afghanistan in the northwest to capture an Afghan post. Pakistan has seized a 32-square-kilometer area of Afghanistan, another Pakistani security official said.
Afghan officials earlier said that dozens of Pakistani soldiers had been killed and several Pakistan posts had been captured by their forces. None of the casualty figures or battlefield claims from either side could be independently verified.
Since the conflict began last week, diplomatic efforts have intensified, with several countries and international bodies calling on both sides to exercise restraint.
The United Nations, along with China and Russia, has called for calm, while US President Donald Trump said Pakistan has the right to defend itself against cross-border militancy.
