'Conjectural allegations': Pakistan denies claims that US used its airspace to kill al-Qaeda leader

Jumping to its own defence, Pakistan denied claims that the US used its airspace to kill al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri.

It comes after Afghanistan’s acting defence minister Mullah Yaqoub accused Pakistan of helping the US kill Zawahiri.

Pakistan's foreign office said in a statement, “In the absence of any evidence, as acknowledged by the Afghan minister himself, such conjectural allegations are highly regrettable and defy the norms of responsible diplomatic conduct.”

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During a press conference along with the Chief of Staff of the Taliban’s military forces, Yaqoub said the use of Pakistan airspace in July to kill the former al-Qaeda leader was a transgression of the country’s borders.

Zawahiri was killed in a drone strike on July 31 by the Central Intelligence Agency of the US which ensured minimal collateral damage to the surrounding people and areas.

Since Islamabad has become an unofficial mouthpiece of the Taliban government abroad, officials in Afghanistan have become displeased with the Pakistani political establishment.

The two neighbouring countries are trying to broker a lasting peace deal between the two factions of the Taliban.

Creating panic among the region's residents, the Pakistani Taliban has reappeared in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Swat valley.

As a result, local trade and tourism have been adversely affected and the ceasefire deal has collapsed.

Following the emergence of differences between the Pakistan Taliban and the army, the former has demanded that the latter should overturn the merger of the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

There has also been a stalemate over the issue of TTP laying down arms in case of a peace deal, despite a series of meetings between the two sides in recent weeks to break the impasse.

(With inputs from agencies)

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