- Demarche delivered after killed soldiers in Bajaur.
- Islamabad seeks action against TTP leadership.
- Pakistan warns against response to cross-border threats.
Pakistan summoned the Afghan mission and issued a strong demarche to the Afghan Taliban regime over the deadly terror attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district that killed 11 Pakistani army soldiers.
“Pakistan strongly condemned the vehicle-borne suicide terrorist attack, followed by an arson attack on a Pakistani military and law enforcement post in Bajaur, carried out by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (Fitna al Khwarij),” said a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday.
The demarche followed the cowardly terrorist attack on a joint checkpoint by security forces and law enforcement agencies (LEA) on February 16.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), at least 12 terrorists belonging to an India-backed proxy were killed while 11 security personnel embraced martyrdom in the attack.
The Foreign Office expressed serious concern in the demarche that the TTP, whose leadership is based in Afghanistan, continues to operate with impunity from Afghan soil.
It was again emphasized that Pakistan has repeatedly received assurances from the Afghan Taliban regime, but unfortunately no visible or concrete action has followed.
The Afghan Taliban regime was asked to take immediate, concrete and verifiable measures against all terrorist groups operating from its territory, including their leadership, the spokesman added.
The spokesman said that the Afghan Taliban regime was also categorically informed that Pakistan reserves the right to respond and eliminate any Khwarij belonging to the TTP along with their affiliates, wherever they are located, to ensure the security of its soldiers, civilians and territorial borders.
Pakistan has seen an increase in cross-border terrorist incidents since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021. The provinces of KP and Balochistan, which border Afghanistan, have been particularly affected by these attacks.
Earlier, ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry in his press release on January 6 this year said that law enforcement agencies conducted 75,175 IBOs across the country by 2025.
To give an overview, he said that 14,658 IBOs were conducted in KP, 58,778 in Balochistan, while 1,739 operations took place in the rest of the country.
Lt Gen Chaudhry said 5,397 terrorist incidents were reported nationwide during the last year. Of these, 3,811 incidents, he said, occurred in KP, 1,557 in Balochistan and 29 incidents were reported in other parts of the country.
He said 2,597 terrorists were killed during counter-terror operations last year. While giving details of 10 major terror attacks across the country, he said civilians and soft targets had been deliberately targeted and Afghan militants were involved in all attacks.
