Islamabad offers firm management over planned Kabul Bannu attack in Afghanistan, envoy to Pakistan said, warning of d
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan on Monday summoned the charge d’affaires of the Afghan Taliban regime and presented a firm statement over the deadly suicide attack on a police post in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, warning that Islamabad reserved the right to respond decisively against those responsible.
The move came two days after a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack on May 9 targeted the Fateh Khel police post in Bannu, leaving 15 police officers martyred and four others injured, including a civilian.
In a harsh statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, Pakistan said a detailed investigation, backed by evidence and technical intelligence, indicated that the attack had been “planned by terrorists residing in Afghanistan.”
“The Afghan chargé d’affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today [Monday] to take strong action regarding the cowardly IED attack carried out by Fitna-al-Khawarij terrorists at the Fateh Khel police post,” the statement said.
Islamabad reiterated its long-standing concerns over the continued use of Afghan soil for terrorist attacks against Pakistan and stressed that the Afghan Taliban had not taken “concrete and verifiable measures” against militant groups operating from its territory.
“The Afghan side was impressed that Pakistan reserves the right to respond decisively against the perpetrators of this barbaric act,” the Ministry of External Affairs said.
The statement said the continued presence of terrorist organizations in Afghanistan and the “permissive environment” that allows their operations had been documented in reports by the UN Monitoring Team and other international organizations.
Pakistan specifically referred to Fitna-al-Khawarij, Fitna-al-Hindustan and ISKP/Daesh, saying it had repeatedly urged the Afghan Taliban regime to act against these groups.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, Pakistan had also engaged constructively with the Afghan Taliban through several rounds of talks mediated by “brotherly and friendly countries”, but Kabul had not consistently engaged or taken meaningful action against the groups.
The latest move reflects a further deterioration in already strained ties between Islamabad and Kabul amid a rise in cross-border militant attacks.
Pakistani officials have repeatedly stated that Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers allowed anti-Pakistan terrorist groups, particularly the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to operate from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan, an accusation the Afghan Taliban denies.
The Bannu attack was one of the deadliest attacks on security personnel in recent months and sparked renewed debate within Pakistan over how to deal with the growing militant threat emanating from across the border. The Ministry of External Affairs warned that Pakistan would not compromise its national security or that of its citizens if the Afghan Taliban regime continued to harbor terrorist organisations.
