Pakistan Behavior Will Not Change After Border Skirmish with Taliban, Says Zardari

Obaid ur Rehman Nizamani, the chief of mission of Pakistan in Kabul had been targeted in Kabul on December 2 and is currently in Pakistan.

The Pakistani Express Tribune newspaper quoted the spokesperson of Pakistan's Foreign Ministry as saying, "Until security is guaranteed, he will stay here."

ISIS had claimed responsibility for the attack on the Pakistani embassy in Kabul and a week after the attack, it released pictures of the group’s snipers, who targeted Nizamani.

However, Pakistani officials said that they would conduct an investigation into the perpetrators of the attack.

Hours after the attack, the Taliban had announced that they had arrested a suspect in connection with the attack. Earlier, the Pakistani embassy in Kabul announced that it will continue operations in Afghanistan.

In the last two months, the Taliban has resumed punishing Afghan citizens through radical practices and many believe that the group has returned to their 1990s era.

In recent months, the Taliban have flogged several Afghan citizens in different parts of Afghanistan.

The Taliban’s implementation of punishment such as execution in public has been widely condemned internationally.

The Taliban announced on Wednesday that the group members have publicly flogged 27 people, including two women, on various charges in Helmand and Zabul provinces.

Rahmon discussed Afghanistan issues during a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif.

The Tajik president arrived in Islamabad on Wednesday. Assessment of the situation in Afghanistan and security in Central Asia has been the focus of Rahmon's talks with Pakistani officials.

Pakistan and Tajikistan have common security concerns about Afghanistan. Since the Taliban came to power, both countries have been attacked by terrorist groups from Afghanistan.

In addition to meeting the Pakistani prime minister, Rahmon had a separate meeting scheduled with Khawaja Asif, the country’s minister of defense, on Thursday.

According to a statement by the office of the Tajikistan president, Rahmon has also discussed the political, military, and social situation of Afghanistan with Pakistan’s defense minister.

The details of these talks have not been announced yet.

According to the sources, the two sides continue to engage in the firefight.

The Taliban and Pakistani officials have not commented on the reasons behind the firefight yet.

On Sunday, the Spin Boldak crossing had witnessed another armed skirmish between the Taliban forces and the Pakistani military. Six Pakistani civilians and one Taliban member had been reportedly killed in the clashes.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif had reacted to the clashes and had stressed that the Taliban must ensure that the incident will not be repeated.

Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif had addressed the country’s Parliament and said that the Taliban were the main cause behind the firefight. He said that the Taliban, accepting their fault, apologised to Pakistan, and promised to prevent such incidents in the future.

In the last few months, this is the second time that the Taliban forces have clashed with the Pakistani military in the border areas.

Faiq had been appointed as a senior Afghan diplomat to the UN by former president Ashraf Ghani’s administration.

The UN Credentials Committee is due to announce its decision regarding Afghanistan officially on Friday.

According to the sources, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Taliban had sent its credentials to this committee to take over the seat of Afghanistan, but the committee rejected it.

This is the second attempt of the Taliban for Afghanistan's seat in the United Nations. The group made a similar request last year and introduced Suhail Shaheen as the group’s representative to the United Nations.