ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan’s interim foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday addressed the issue of border clashes with Pakistan while addressing a gathering in Kabul, saying skirmishes along the frontier between the two countries was not in the interest of either state.

Pakistan shut a busy border crossing with Afghanistan in the southwestern Balochistan province earlier this year after armed men on the other side of the frontier targeted one of its checkpoints.

The Afghan Taliban forces also fired mortar shells on border settlements in Pakistan more recently, making the foreign office in Islamabad remind Kabul it was the collective responsibility of the two countries to ensure the safety of civilian population.

However, Muttaqi told the gathering on Sunday the administration in Kabul continued to see Islamabad as a friend.

“Clashes between our border forces and yours is neither in your interest nor in ours,” he was quoted as saying by his country’s first 24/7 Tolo news channel. “Making trouble on the Durand Line is neither in your interest nor in ours. I look upon you as a brother and a Muslim. Look at us with the same eyes.”

Apart from rising tensions along the border separating the two countries, Pakistan has also witnessed a spike in militant attacks in recent weeks which officials in Islamabad have attributed to a proscribed militant faction, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, whose leadership is said to be based in Afghanistan.

The foreign office of Pakistan has urged the administration in Kabul not to allow armed militant factions to use its soil against other countries.

The threat emanating from Afghanistan was also recognized by the United States administration recently which offered necessary financial resources to Pakistan to further strengthen its border security.

So far, Pakistan’s foreign office has not responded to Muttaqi’s statement who asked Pakistan to continue its relations with Kabul and “do business” with his country.

However, it has maintained in the past that it would continue the policy of engagement with the neighboring state.