"Pakistan played its hand badly, its foreign policy a failure": Former Diplomat KP Fabian on Pak-Afghan conflict

New Delhi [India], October 12 (ANI): Former Indian diplomat KP Fabian on Sunday termed Pakistan's foreign policy as a "failure" after Islamabad acted as an aggressor against Afghanistan.

Speaking with ANI, KP Fabian advised not to base the conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan only on the basis of the Durand line, and highlighted Islamabad's habit of aggression. He added that Pakistan played its hand "badly."

"This has happened when, maybe coincidentally, the Afghanistan Emirate Foreign Minister is in Delhi... The bad relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan cannot entirely be explained on the basis of the Durand Line... I think Pakistan played its hand badly, probably was overbearing," he said.

"The proud Afghans resisted, and now the relationship is very bad. Pakistan had carried out some strikes on Kabul, so Afghanistan has retaliated...On the whole, Pakistani policy has been, more or less, a failure...It is abundantly clear that Afghanistan is keen on developing relations with India, which is the case with India too, and Pakistan is naturally upset," he added.

Earlier, the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) conducted retaliatory strikes against Pakistani military positions along the Durand Line late Saturday night, following repeated violations of Afghanistan's sovereignty and recent airstrikes on its territory, the Afghan Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

In a post on X, the ministry stated, "Tonight, our armed forces conducted a successful retaliatory operation against the centres of Pakistani forces along the Durand Line in response to the repeated violations of Afghanistan's sovereignty by the Pakistani military and airstrikes on Afghanistan's territory. The operation concluded around midnight."

The ministry warned that Afghan forces remain ready to defend the nation's borders against any further attacks. "If the Pakistani side violates Afghanistan's sovereignty again, our armed forces are prepared to defend the country's borders and will respond decisively," the statement added. (ANI)

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