KABUL: Problems affecting relations between neighbors Afghanistan and Pakistan can be resolved through ​dialogue and diplomacy, Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said on Monday.

Muttaqi’s ⁠comments, ⁠made at an event in Russia, came at a time when military tensions between the friends-turned-foes have spiraled.

The neighbors have been at odds over militancy, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of harboring militants who stage cross-border attacks. The Taliban government denies the charge and ​says militancy is ​Pakistan’s internal problem.

Instead of seeking “political understanding,” Pakistan’s powerful military uses only military language in relations with Afghanistan and has carried out aggression ‌in violation of international ‌laws, he ​said.

‌Pakistan ⁠has turned ​transit routes, ⁠refugees and students into instruments of pressure, and gathered thousands of armed men near the border to challenge stability, Muttaqi added.

Afghanistan neither wants problems with Pakistan ⁠to become “a field of mutual ‌accusations and ‌propaganda,” nor seeks “new means of ​prolonging it,” ‌he said.

But Kabul considers ‌self-defense against any aggression to be its legitimate and undeniable right, according to Muttaqi.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry, military and Prime ‌Minister’s Office did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.