THERE is no let up in attacks from Afghan side inside Pakistani territory. Four army soldiers were martyred and one was injured in two separate incidents of firing by militants near the Afghan border. The first incident occurred in North Waziristan tribal district, where miscreants opened fired on a routine patrolling party near Abba Khel area of Spinwam tehsil while in the second incident in Dir, terrorists opened fire from across the border on Pakistani troops who were busy in border fencing.
The attacks have come at a time when Indian actions have also aggravated situation on the Line of Control (LoC) following its illegal and controversial steps in occupied Kashmir. According to ISPR on Saturday, one soldier and one civilian were killed in two separate incidents of unprovoked firing by Indian forces on the LoC. There appears to be a deep connection in these incidents on the LoC as well as Pak-Afghan border. Our enemy wants to engage Pakistan on multiple fronts in order to achieve its sordid design of diverting attention from its atrocities in occupied Kashmir. Time has come for Pakistan to tell Afghan authorities in categorical terms to take stern and definite action against anti-Pakistan elements taking refuge in its territory and staging attacks against the country.
Pakistan has repeatedly stressed the need for better management of the border with Afghanistan and has also taken steps to this effect including starting work on fencing of borders but the other side has never positively reciprocated to these steps. Instead of playing in the hands of Pakistan’s enemy, it is better for Afghan government to fulfil its responsibility vis-à-vis securing border areas to effectively counter terrorist elements. Our authorities also need to speed up work on completing the fencing of borders so that undesirable elements could not make their way into our territory. It is also for Washington to resume the stalled peace process with Afghan Taliban at the earliest as successful conclusion of the process will also go a long way in rooting out anti-peace elements from Afghanistan that are being abetted, financed and supported by India.
