Pakistan ‘strongly condemns’ use of Afghan soil by terrorists
Tariq Saeed Peshawar
In yet another act of naked aggression from across the border, as many as six Army personnel were martyred when terrorists from Afghanistan opened firing on Pakistani troops in Kurram district on Sunday.
Reports say the terrorists from the neighboring Afghanistan resorted to indiscriminate firing on the troops guarding security post on International border at Kurram tribal district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The valiant Jawaans of the Pakistan Army retaliated the ambush in befitting manner and are reported to have inflicted heavy casualties on the insurgents yet details of the losses on part of the trouble makers could not be ascertained.
The security men embracing Shahadat during exchange of fire with the terrorists were identified as Lance Naik Ajab Noor, 34-year-old (resident of Karachi), 22-year-old Sepoy Ziaullah Khan from Lakki Marwat, 23-year-old Sepoy Naheed Iqbal from Karak, 18-year-old Sepoy Sameerullah Khan from Bannu and 27-year-old Sepoy Sajid hailing from Bahawalnagar.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for activities against the country and expects that [the] interim Afghan government will not allow conduct of such activities against Pakistan in future,” the ISPR statement said.
The Pakistan Army is determined to defend Pakistan’s borders against the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave men further strengthen our resolve, it added.The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack.
While Pakistani security forces are solidifying border security through fencing and construc-tion of forts to deny liberty of action to the ter-rorists, the officials say Afghan Security Forces and the authorities need to have more effective control in border region to support Pakistan’s efforts as well as deny use of Afghan soil against Pakistan.
It appears now that Pakistan is running out of patience with the interim Taliban government as despite its repeated promises Afghan soil con-tinued to be used by terrorists against Pakistan.
Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, while condemning the terrorist attack, said in a state-ment that the interim Taliban government should ensure that such attacks do not take place as promised.
Paying homage to the sacrifices of the security forces, he said that their sacrifices will not go in vain.
The latest incident came on the heels of coor-dinated terrorist attacks in the Panjgur and Naushki areas of Balochistan.
The Pakistani intel-ligence agencies intercepted communication between the attackers and their handlers in In-dia and Afghanistan.
It is believed that Pakistan has conveyed its concerns to the Taliban government about the repeated use of Afghan soil by terrorists.
