Afghan officials to probe Pakistan's unspecified security complaint

Afghan officials have said that the government would probe the security concerns raised by Pakistan, that was not officially informed of any concerns, after it shut its consular services in Kabul. Islamabad cited unspecified security concerns over the closure of its embassy. Pakistan's Embassy announced the closure in a statement, saying that the consular services would no longer be available until further information. 

On Sunday, Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Ministry summoned the Afghan charg d'affaires to convey concerns about the safety of its diplomats in Kabul. "The Afghan charg d'affaires was informed that the officers and staff of the Embassy of Pakistan were being harassed over the past two days," it said, adding that they were blocked while on the road and that embassy vehicles were hit by motorcycles while on their way to the diplomatic mission in Kabul.

Gran Hewad, spokesman for the Afghan foreign ministry, told The Associated Press that authorities will investigate the issue. "We are in contact with the Pakistan Embassy here in Kabul to solve the issue," he said. On October 29, the Pakistan Army claimed Afghan security forces fired mortars and heavy machine guns that targeted civilians in the northwestern Chitral district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, injuring 11 people, including six soldiers. Tensions spiraled between the two neighbours after Afghanistan shut its consulate in Peshawar in capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as protest occurred about the removal of its national flag from a disputed area known as Afghan Market in the city.

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Pakistan-Taliban bonhomie 

The Afghan and Pakistan relationship have been uneasy, with Kabul blaming Islamabad for supporting the Taliban in the country's protracted war, a charge Islamabad denies. Despite their claims, in October top leaders of the militant met with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi with the view to revive the "dead" talks between the US and Taliban to end the 18-year-old war. The Foreign Office said in a statement that a delegation of the Taliban Political Commission (TPC) called on Qureshi.

Since the inception of the Taliban in 1994, Pakistan's Foreign Policy in Afghanistan has been in favour of the Taliban, who also considers the militant group as the Afghan representative, instead of the government.  The armed group came into existence in 1994 with the support of Pakistan, by leader Mullah Mohammed Omar. Omar's bonhomie with Osama bin Laden, allowed him to move Al Qaeda's base of operations in Afghanistan's Kandahar. Pakistan's hypocritical stand in favour of the Taliban unmasks its endeavors to curb terrorism brimming on their soil. 

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(With PTI inputs)