By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) – Pakistan's special representative for Afghanistan, Muhammad Sadiq Khan, on Monday met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to brief him on his recent visit to Kabul.

Khan and his delegation visited Kabul last week and met with senior Taliban leaders and interim administration ministers, including acting Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Kabir, acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani, acting Commerce Minister Nooruddin Azizi, and other senior officials and traders.

"Muhammad Sadiq Khan briefed the Prime Minister regarding his recent visit to Afghanistan," the Prime Minister’s Office said in a brief statement.

Khan was in Kabul when the Pakistan Air Force conducted airstrikes in eastern Paktika province on December 24, with Taliban officials accusing Islamabad of violating its territory on the one hand and talking peace on the other.

On Tuesday night, the interim Taliban administration in Kabul claimed that the Pakistani military carried out airstrikes, the second such cross-border action by Islamabad since March, in the Barmal district of eastern Paktika province.

The Taliban administration deputy spokesman Mullah Hamdullah Fitrat, the next day, said the bombing by Pakistani jets killed 46 people, including women and children, and injured six others. He added houses were also destroyed.

On Thursday, Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch also confirmed airstrikes inside Afghanistan, killing "terrorists."

She said the operation was carried out “based on threats to the security of Pakistani citizens” and rejected the reports Pakistan targeted children and women.

However, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said Thursday it received "credible" reports that dozens of civilians, including women and children, were killed in airstrikes by Pakistan’s military forces in eastern Paktika province.

Tension between the two neighbors escalated following the airstrikes, and on Saturday the Afghan Defense Ministry said its forces conducted attacks inside Pakistani territory targeting "miscreants' hideouts."

However, the ministry did not explain "miscreants" or provide additional information about the casualties and locations targeted within Pakistani territory.

While local Afghan media reported that at least five people were killed and three injured in a border clash between the two countries' forces in Paktia and Khost provinces.

Later, a senior Pakistani military official also confirmed to Anadolu and claimed that banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Afghan Taliban jointly attempted to infiltrate from Afghanistan; however, Pakistani forces foiled the attempt.

The official claimed that at least 20 TTP militants and Afghan Taliban were killed in the clash. However, no independent source verified the claim to Anadolu.

- Afghan and Chinese officials hold talks in Kabul.

Chinese Ambassador to Kabul Zhao Xing on Monday met with acting Afghan Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and discussed bilateral issues, including the Wakhan Corridor.

According to a statement from the Interior Ministry, the two sides discussed the Wakhan Corridor's strategic importance, improving trade relations, and expanding passenger flight operations.

Both sides underscored the importance of deepening bilateral cooperation and taking concrete steps to advance common interests.

Meanwhile, Afghan officials in Badakhshan province dismissed reports of Pakistani forces in the Wakhan district.

"There have been no credible reports confirming the presence of the foreign military in the area," state-run Bakhtar News Agency quoted Ehsanullah Kamgar, Badakhshan police spokesman, as saying.

Kamgar added that Afghan forces are fully prepared to tackle any potential threats along the borders.

The Wakhan Corridor is a narrow strip of territory in Afghanistan's Badakhshan province that links to China's Xinjiang region. It also separates Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region to the north from Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Gilgit-Baltistan region.