Afghanistan has “suffered greatly” from war and it does not want conflict with any country, the Taliban has said.

“War benefits no one, and neither does destabilizing the region,” Taliban chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told Runjhun Sharma’s ‘India, Russia, and the World’ podcast.

Responding to Sharma’s hypothetical question whether Taliban would put boots on the ground for India against Pakistan, Mujahid asserted, “We do not want war or instability in the region, and we do not want any country to take action against another.”

The Taliban government has quietly improved ties with India, which Islamabad has partly blamed for its own strained relations with Afghanistan.

Mujahid, however, said Afghanistan did not start the recent border fighting and was just defending itself after Pakistan violated its territory. “Defending ourselves is our right, but we are neither the initiators nor do we want it to continue.”

Islamabad has accused Afghanistan of hosting militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Afghanistan, however, says the Pakistani strikes are hitting civilians including women and children.

The Taliban spokesman pointed out that the conflict benefits no one as people on both sides of the border share a common culture, trade links, and geography.

Recently, a spokesman for the Taliban’s Ministry of Economy, Abdul Rahman Habib, told Sharma in a separate interview that his government will ensure the safety of a prospective rail route linking Russia to India, which would give Moscow access to the Indian Ocean, and give jobs to Afghans.

“We place great importance on maintaining a strong relationship with India,” Mujahid added. “Those ties are moving in a positive direction.”

“Afghanistan, as you know, is going through a period of reconstruction, and Russia has extensive resources that could be useful to us. We want to benefit from Russia’s experience in rebuilding the country while also expanding trade and economic cooperation.”

“More broadly, it could possibly be of great benefit to regional security as well if cooperation exists among the two countries.”