KABUL - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday called on neighbouring and regional countries to cooperate with the Afghan government in holding next week’s presidential runoff election.

The ministry’s spokesman, Shekib Mustaghni, told reporters regional countries and the international community should help Afghanistan conduct the historic vote in a peaceful environment.

“We expect regional countries, particularly neighboring states to help us hold Afghanistan’s vital election in a peaceful way.”

The spokesman also said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wanted to provide Afghan refugees, especially those living in Iran and Pakistan, the opportunity to cast votes in the upcoming election, but the Independent Election Commission (IEC) lacked budget in this regard.

He also talked about the periodic cross-border shelling by Pakistani soldiers, saying diplomatic efforts were under way to resolve the issue.

He the government of Afghanistan was mulling various options how to prevent the Pakistani attacks, including raising the issue on international level, taking precautionary measures.

He said the final option would be a military response to the attacks. (Pajhwok)