Pakistan FM: We reject foreign presence in Afghanistan

The Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced that his country is at the same distance from all rival parties in Afghanistan, stressing rejection of the continued foreign presence in Afghanistan and maintaining full support to the scheduled US withdrawal.

He added that it is unfortunate to use his country as a 'scapegoat' for others' mistakes in Afghanistan, be they local or foreign parties, pointing out that Pakistan is the one who will lose the most from any instability in Afghanistan.

It is worth mentioning that last month, the Afghan Foreign Ministry announced that Kabul had summoned its ambassador and other diplomats in Islamabad "after the kidnapping incident of the daughter of its representative in Pakistan."

The Afghan Foreign Ministry had summoned Pakistan's Ambassador to Kabul and expressed "strong protest" after its representative’s daughter, Silsila Alikhil, was "kidnapped" by unknown persons for "several hours".

Moreover, last month, video footage also showed, the “Taliban's” seizure of a border crossing with Pakistan, where the Movement's flag was raised over the crossing, followed by a military operation launched by in the town of Spin Boldak, which includes one of the most important crossings with Pakistan, to retrieve it from the “Taliban”.

It is noteworthy that, today, the "Taliban" Movement took control of the entrance of Aybak, the capital of Samangan Province in the north of the country, after seizing five provincial capitals so far. A “Taliban” spokesman said that the fighting with the Afghan forces is still ongoing near the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, the fourth largest Afghan city.