Following recent skirmishes on the Pak-Afghan frontier, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday asserted that the goverment would not tolerate any cross-border terrorism.
In the early hours of Monday, Pakistan struck Afganistan’s Khost and Paktika provinces what Pakistan called “intelligence-based anti-terrorist operations”, which, according to the Afghan’s Taliban government, killed eight people.
The Pakistan’s Foreign Office had confirmed the strikes, saying they were aimed at the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, which recently targeted Pakistan’s security forces in North Waziristan, killing seven soldiers.
The Pakistan’s air strikes were responded to by Afghanistan forces which used heavy weapons, including mortars, to target Pakistan’s troops across the border in Kurram and North Waziristan.
Earlier this year, Pakistan conducted retaliatory strikes in Iran after the latter launched attacks in Pakistan targeting what it described as bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl in the border town of Balochistan’s Panjgur.
Addressing a meeting of the federal apex committee today in Islamabad , Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz said: “We will not tolerate any kind of terrorism from across the border. Under no circumstances.”
“Unfortunately, again, terrorism has reared its head. The reality is that despite such great sacrifices and resources expended, our martyrs and warriors are risking their lives to eliminate terrorism,” PM Shehbaz said.
Pakistan’s borders are a red line against terrorism,” the prime minister said.
“We want to exist in a very peaceful environment with our neighbouring brothers — do trade, commerce and expand our relations — but unfortunately, if a neighbour’s land is used for terrorism, this is intolerable” he asserted.
PM Shehbaz requested “neighbouring countries” to “come and sit” to devise a plan against terrorism “with sincerity of purpose work towards eradicating it”. “I am hopeful that our neighbouring country will carefully consider my invitation,” he added.
Resurgent terrorism
Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities in 2023 year, especially in KP and Balochistan after the banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the Pakistan’s federal government in November 2022.
The Pakistan’s military media wing ISPR said earlier this month 10 militants were killed in two separate operations by security forces in the North Waziristan district. It added that Pakistan expected the Afghan government to fulfil its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by terrorists.
Last month, a late-night attack on a police station in Dera Ismail Khan was repulsed. Gunmen had mounted an attack using heavy weapons but fled in the cover of darkness when police personnel fired back.
In December last year, 23 soldiers were killed and more than 30 troops wounded after militants belonging to the Tehreek-i-Jihad Pakistan (TJP) stormed a compound used by the military in Dera Ismail Khan’s Daraban area.
According to an annual security report issued by the Centre for Research and Security Studies, Pakistan witnessed 1,524 violence-related fatalities and 1,463 injuries from 789 terror attacks and counter-terror operations in 2023 — marking a record six-year high.
KP and Balochistan were the primary centres of violence, accounting for over 90 per cent of all fatalities and 84pc of attacks, including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations.
