ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's interior minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed announced on Friday his country had decided to relax its visa policy for international journalists and media workers stranded in Afghanistan to help them exit the war-battered country amid a deteriorating security situation.
"International journalists and media workers who intend to leave Afghanistan via Pakistan are urged to apply for a Pakistani visa," said a statement issued by his office. "The Interior Ministry will issue visas to these international journalists and workers on a priority basis."
The ministry added the announcement of visa relaxation by the Pakistani government was made in view of the safety of journalists working in Afghanistan.
Pakistan's neighboring state in the northwest has witnessed significant escalation in insurgent violence since the United States announced to pull out its troops earlier this year.
The Taliban launched a military campaign against the administration in Kabul, capturing several key districts and border crossings in Afghanistan.
According to some intelligence assessments, the insurgent faction could seize Afghanistan's capital within a matter of months.
The Afghan authorities have accused Pakistan of supporting the Taliban, though Pakistani officials deny the allegation and say they are interested in a politically negotiated settlement in the neighboring state.
Pakistan's national security advisor Moeed Yusuf emphasized the need to expedite the peace process in Afghanistan during a media interaction in Islamabad on Friday.
"Trust me, if they sit down, they will be able to come out with some sort of settlement and we will respect whatever Afghans decide," he was quoted by the Associated Press.
"History will judge us very badly and poorly if we don't put all efforts behind (this) for a political settlement" on the Afghan crisis, he added.
Yusuf also defended his country's position, saying it was beyond Pakistan's capacity to become a "guarantor for peace" in Afghanistan.
"Everybody needs to respect what Afghans decide politically," he said.
Pakistan announces visa relaxation for international journalists stranded in Afghanistan
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Pakistan announces visa relaxation for international journalists stranded in Afghanistan
- The country's interior minister says his government will issue visas to foreign media workers in the war-battered country 'on a priority basis'
- Pakistan's national security advisor also urged Afghan factions to expedite the peace process to reach a negotiated settlement
Pakistan says it seized 32 square kilometers inside Afghanistan as border clashes escalate
- Security official describes ‘limited tactical action’ in Gudwana after Afghan assaults
- Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering militants as UN, China and Russia urge restraint
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has seized a 32-square-kilometer area inside Afghanistan following overnight fighting, a security official said on Saturday, as cross-border clashes between the two countries escalated sharply.
A Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said troops carried out a “limited tactical action” in the Gudwana area opposite the Zhob sector along the frontier, capturing Afghan territory after responding to attacks on Pakistani positions.
“On the night of Feb. 26/27, posts opposite the Zhob sector launched anticipated physical attacks on multiple Pakistani positions,” the official said, referring to fighters linked to Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, whom Islamabad identifies as Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA).
“In response to aggressive unprovoked fire and physical attacks, Pakistan security forces launched a limited tactical action on the night of Feb. 27/28 in the general area of Gudwana with a view to capture TTA Tahir Post,” he continued, adding that 32 square kilometers of Afghan territory were seized.
The official said special combat teams crossed the border after preparatory bombardment, supported by intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets providing “real-time battlefield awareness.”
He said 24 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and 37 wounded, with no Pakistani casualties reported.
The claims could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate confirmation from Taliban authorities in Kabul of any territorial loss in the Gudwana area.
The latest clashes erupted after Pakistani airstrikes targeted what Islamabad described as militant hideouts inside Afghanistan over the weekend, triggering retaliatory fire along the frontier and sharply escalating long-running tensions. Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering Pakistani Taliban militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, an allegation that Afghanistan denies.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday evening that 352 Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed and more than 535 wounded since the latest phase of hostilities began.
Tarar said Pakistani strikes had destroyed 130 check posts, 171 tanks and armored vehicles and targeted 41 locations across Afghanistan by air. Those figures could not be independently verified.
The United Nations, as well as China and Russia, have called for restraint.
The United States said Pakistan has the right to defend itself against cross-border militancy.
