Islamabad, May 11 (PTI) Pakistan on Monday summoned the Afghan Charge d’Affaires and issued a “strong demarche” over a deadly attack carried out by the TTP on a police post in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
At least 15 security personnel were killed and several others injured in the suicide attack on the police post in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district on Saturday.
The ministry conveyed that a detailed investigation into the incident, along with evidence collected and technical intelligence, indicates that the attack was masterminded by terrorists residing in Afghanistan, the Foreign Office (FO) said in a statement.
“Reiterating Pakistan’s grave concern over the continued use of Afghan soil for terrorist attacks against Pakistan, it was impressed upon the Afghan side that Pakistan reserves the right to respond decisively against the perpetrators of this barbaric act,” it said.
It was further highlighted that the continued presence of various terrorist groups on Afghan soil, and the permissive environment enabling their operations, have been well documented in reports by the UN Monitoring Team and other international organisations, the FO said.
“The fight against terrorism is a common cause, and the Afghan Taliban must honour their commitment not to allow their territory to be used for terrorism against other countries,” it said.
Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Afghan Taliban regime to take concrete and verifiable action against Fitna-al-Khawarij, ISKP/Daesh and other elements operating from Afghan soil, it added.
Fitna al-Khawarij is a term the state uses to refer to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The FO said that Pakistan has also constructively engaged with the Afghan Taliban regime through several rounds of talks mediated by brotherly and friendly countries. However, the Afghan Taliban have consistently failed to commit to, or deliver, meaningful and verifiable action against these terrorist outfits.
The Afghan Taliban regime has also been categorically informed that, if it continues to harbour these terrorist organisations, Pakistan will not compromise on its national security or on the safety and protection of its citizens, according to the FO.
Relations between the two countries have lately become strained, largely because of the TTP but also due to frequent border skirmishes.
There has been an uptick in the incidents of terrorism in Pakistan since the Taliban took over the government in Kabul in 2021, dashing hopes in Islamabad that a friendly government in Afghanistan would help to tackle militancy. PTI SH ZH ZH
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