Pakistan has carried out “intelligence-based anti-terrorist operations” inside the border regions of Afghanistan, the Foreign Office (FO) confirmed on Monday.
According to press release that came hours after Kabul said airstrikes conducted on its soil had killed eight people, the prime targets of the operation conducted in the morning earlier today were terrorists belonging to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group.
The FO added that the outfit, along with the banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was responsible for multiple terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, resulting in “deaths of hundreds of civilians and law enforcement officials”.
The latest attack of such an instance took place on Saturday at a security post in Mir Ali in North Waziristan which claimed the lives of seven Pakistani soldiers including two officers.
The Hafiz Gul Bahadar group had claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in North Waziristan. Security officials say that fighters of the Gul Bahadar group operate from the Afghan side of the border, mostly from Khost.
‘Pakistan had repeatedly conveyed concerns to Afghan authorities’
The FO statement said that over the years, “Pakistan has repeatedly conveyed its serious concerns to the interim Afghan government over the presence of terror outfits, including TTP, inside Afghanistan. These terrorists pose a grave threat to Pakistan’s security and have consistently used Afghan territory to launch terror attacks inside Pakistani territory.”
The FO said Pakistan accorded “prime importance” to Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and therefore, always prioritized dialogue and cooperation to confront the terrorist threat.
“We have repeatedly urged the Afghan authorities to take concrete and effective action to ensure that the Afghan soil is not used as a staging ground for terrorism against Pakistan. We have also called on them to deny safe havens to TTP and to hand over its leadership to Pakistan.
“Pakistan has great respect for the people of Afghanistan. However, certain elements among those in power in Afghanistan are actively patronising TTP and using them as a proxy against Pakistan. Such an approach against a brotherly country, which stood with the people of Afghanistan through thick and thin, manifests shortsightedness. It ignores the support extended by Pakistan to the people of Afghanistan over the last several decades.
“We urge these elements in power to rethink the policy of siding with khwarij terrorists shedding the blood of innocent Pakistanis and to make a clear choice to stand with the people of Pakistan,” the FO said.
It concluded that terrorist groups such as the TTP were a collective threat to regional peace and security, adding that it fully realized the challenge Afghan authorities faced in combating the threat posed by TTP.
The FO said Pakistan would continue to work towards finding joint solutions in countering terrorism and to prevent any terrorist organization from sabotaging bilateral relations with Afghanistan.
Afghanistan warns of “dire consequences”
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson of the government, alleged earlier today in a statement that Pakistani aircraft had carried out airstrikes on Afghan soil in the provinces of Paktika and Khost along the Pakistan border, killing eight people.
The Paktika province is located near Pakistan’s South Waziristan District while Khost is situated near North Waziristan.
اظهارات سخنگوی امارت اسلامی افغانستان در پیوند به حملات هوایی طیارات پاکستانی بالای افغانستان https://t.co/cnuDSM9daY pic.twitter.com/dyBDoIhe6m
— Zabihullah (..ذبـــــیح الله م ) (@Zabehulah_M33) March 18, 2024
In a government statement posted on Mujahid’s X account, he said: “The Pakistani side is saying that [militant] Abdullah Shah was targeted in the strikes but he lives on the Pakistani side. Members of the same tribe live on both sides and routinely move across the border.”
He stated: “The Islamic Emirate strongly condemns the attacks and describes these as non-serious actions and violation of Afghanistani territory.”
The spokesperson further said: “Pakistan should not blame Afghanistan for their problems and failure to control violent incidents. Such acts can lead to dire consequences which will not be in control of Pakistan.”
A statement posted later by the Afghan foreign ministry said it summoned Pakistan’s charge d’affaires and also sent him a letter of protest.
د افغانستان اسلامي امارت د بهرنیو چارو وزارت د پاکستاني پوځیانو له خوا د افغانستان پر پکتیکا او خوست ولایتونو د بریدونو په غبرګون کې چې په پایله کې يې ښځینه او ماشومان شهیدان شول، په کابل کې د هغه هېواد د سفارت سرپرست احضار او احتجاجلیک یې ورته وسپاره. pic.twitter.com/rzVaEx2hCM
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Afghanistan (@MoFA_Afg) March 18, 2024
“Besides condemning the attacks, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs Pakistan that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has a long experience of fighting for freedom against the superpowers of the world and cannot tolerate aggression on its territory in any way.
“The new civilian government and the people of Pakistan should not allow some circles to complicate the relations between the two neighbouring Muslim countries with their irresponsible actions and wrong policies,” the statement said.
