UNITED NATIONS, Feb 27: Top UN officials have expressed concern over the cross-border clashes between Taliban militants and Pakistani security forces, and called for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve their differences.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is following the situation with concern , his spokesperson said Thursday.

In a note to correspondents, Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the secretary-general urges relevant parties to comply with their obligations under international law and to ensure the protection of civilians.

“Commending mediation efforts by several Member States in recent months, the Secretary-General urges the parties to continue to seek to resolve any differences through diplomacy,” Dujarric said.

In Geneva, UN human rights chief Volker Turk on appealed for dialogue between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“This situation calls for urgent political dialogue, rather than escalating the use of force,” said the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Beyond the global body, the UN-backed International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for the Supreme Leader of the Taliban, Haibatullah Akhundzada, and for the Chief Justice of the Taliban, Mr Abdul Hakim Haqqani.

The warrant states that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both men are guilty of “ordering, inducing or soliciting the crime against humanity of persecution…against girls, women and other persons non-conforming with the Taliban’s policy on gender, gender identity or expression; and on political grounds against persons perceived as ‘allies of girls and women’”.