Reuters: 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, during the night of March 12-13, bombed a fuel depot near Afghanistan’s Kandahar airport, stepping up the neighbours’ worst conflict in years, despite China’s efforts to mediate.
Security sources released video footage showing Pakistani military strikes on oil dump sites at Kandahar airfield. According to security officials, the Pakistan Army targeted and destroyed oil storage facilities at the airfield that were being used by the Afghan Taliban and terrorist groups to support their operations. The action was carried out under Operation Ghazab lil-Haq. Security sources have pledged to continue operations until the set objectives are achieved. Wang and Muttaqi also exchanged views on the situation in the Middle East involving hostilities between US-Israel and Iran, the communique 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.
Operation Ghazab lil-Haq
Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, Pakistan has seen an increase in cross-border terrorist activity, particularly in the provinces of KP and Balochistan, which share a border with Afghanistan.Amid the rising terror incidents, Pakistan has launched “Operation Ghazab lil-Haq” during which over 650 Afghan Taliban fighters have been killed in Pakistan’s strikes along the border and within the neighbouring country.
According to Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, over 855 Afghan Taliban fighters have been injured, 243 checkposts destroyed, 42 captured, and 219 tanks, armoured vehicles, and artillery guns eliminated. Before the operation, Pakistan had also struck seven terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to Fitna al-Khawarij (FAK), its affiliates and the Daesh-Khorasan along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in response to recent suicide attacks. The airstrikes were carried out in Nangarhar, Paktika and Khost provinces of Afghanistan, the security sources said, adding that more than 80 militants were killed in the airstrikes.
The two countries, back in October 2025, were also engaged in border clashes after the Afghan Taliban and militants launched unprovoked attacks against Pakistan’s border posts. The resulting clashes led to the killing of over 200 Taliban and affiliated militants, while 23 Pakistani soldiers were martyred defending the motherland.
However, despite many rounds of talks, both countries failed to reach an agreement due to the Afghan Taliban regime’s reluctance to take action against terrorist outfits.
