UK Special Representative Calls for Taliban and Pakistan to Return to Negotiating Table

Richard Landy, the UK Special Representative for Afghanistan, has called for the Taliban and Pakistan to return to the negotiating table following recent Pakistani airstrikes on Kabul and other parts of the country.

In a post on X, Landy expressed deep concern over increasing civilian casualties from hostilities between Afghanistan and Pakistan, including night attacks in Kabul. He stated that civilians bear the heaviest burden in these conflicts.

Pakistani fighter jets bombed various parts of Kabul on Monday night. Taliban officials claim one target was a drug addicts' treatment center, where at least 400 people were killed and 250 wounded. Pakistan denies targeting the center, asserting the strikes hit ammunition depots nearby and accusing the Taliban of setting fire to the facility themselves—a claim the Taliban rejects.

Sources say a munitions depot of the Taliban Ministry of Defense in Kabul's district 8 was also targeted, with fire and smoke rising for several hours that fire trucks could not control.

These conflicting accounts leave questions about the targets and high casualty figures unanswered. The border clashes between Pakistani forces and the Taliban have now entered their 21st day, heightening concerns over escalating violence and its impact on civilians.