China urges Pakistan, Afghanistan to resolve tensions via talks, not force

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Afghan counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi in a phone call that disputes between Afghanistan and Pakistan should be resolved through dialogue and consultation, not force, the foreign ministry said in a statement published on Friday.

Wang urged both sides to remain calm and exercise restraint, hold face-to-face talks as soon as possible, seek an immediate ceasefire and address differences through dialogue, according to the statement.

The further use of force would only complicate the situation and intensify tensions, Wang said.

The ministry’s statement came after Pakistan on Friday targeted terror camps and associated infrastructure in Afghanistan.

Wang and Muttaqi also exchanged views on the situation in Iran, the statement said.

Wang told Muttaqi, according to the statement, that Beijing is willing to work with the international community, including Afghanistan, to bring peace to Iran.

Souring relations

There has been a resurgence in terrorism in Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021. Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Taliban administration to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil, particularly those linked to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. Officials say those appeals have gone unheeded.

Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan heightened once again after the Feb 16 vehicle-borne suicide attack on a joint security forces post in Bajaur district near the Afghan border. Terrorists belonging to the TTP attempted to breach the Malangi check post and rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into its perimeter wall after an exchange of fire.

Eleven Pakistani soldiers were martyred. A young girl also died, and seven others, including women and children, were injured when a nearby residential building was damaged in the blast.

Investigators said the suicide bomber, identified as Amad, alias Qari Abdullah or Abu Zar, was a member of the Afghan Taliban’s special forces from Balkh province. The TTP claimed responsibility for the assault.

Then, on Feb 21, a lieutenant colonel and a sepoy were martyred in a suicide attack during an intelligence-based operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district.

In its statement, the military reiterated that terrorists were “using Afghan soil” for carrying out attacks inside Pakistan, “violating the sanctity of the holy month of Ramazan”.

“Pakistan will not exercise any restrain and operations would continue against the perpetrators of this heinous and cowardly act for justified retribution against khwarij, irrespective of their location,” the ISPR asserted.

On Feb 19, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had warned that Pakistan would not hesitate to conduct strikes inside Afghanistan if attacks continued from across the border, saying military options remained viable.

In November last year, Zabiullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Taliban government in Afghanistan, had claimed that Pakistan had “bombed” Khost province, and carried out air strikes in Kunar and Paktika provinces.

At the time, Pakistan had neither confirmed nor denied the strikes, which were reported the same day a deadly suicide attack on the Federal Constabulary headquarters saw three personnel embrace martyrdom and 12 sustain injuries.

The strikes were reported almost a month after deadly border clashes at the Pak-Afghan border had resulted in the martyrdom of 23 Pakistani soldiers and the killing of over 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists, according to the ISPR.

The skirmishes began “on the night of Oct 11/12, 2025, [after] Afghan Taliban and India-sponsored Fitna-al-Khawarij launched an unprovoked attack on Pakistan, along the Pak-Afghan border”.