By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday urged the interim Afghan government to take “immediate and effective” action against terrorists behind a deadly attack on a military base in Bannu, which killed eight soldiers.
The attack, blamed on the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group of Pakistani Taliban operating from Afghanistan, has heightened tensions between the two countries. Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan of harboring terrorist groups that carry out attacks on its soil.
The Foreign Office in Islamabad summoned the Afghan deputy head of mission to deliver a “strong demarche” and demanded that Kabul “fully investigate and take immediate and effective action” against those responsible.
“The interim Afghan government was urged to fully investigate and take immediate, robust, and effective action against the perpetrators of the Bannu attack and to prevent the recurrence of such attacks against Pakistan using the territory of Afghanistan,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
“Pakistan reiterated its serious concerns over the presence of terror outfits inside Afghanistan that continue to threaten Pakistan’s security. Such incidents also go against the spirit of bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries.”
The attack on Bannu Cantonment was “yet another reminder of the serious threat” posed by terrorism to regional peace and security, it added.
Pakistan has consistently raised concerns with the Afghan government about the use of Afghan soil by terrorists and has called for effective action against such elements.
The two countries have a long history of tensions, particularly over the presence of the banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group in Afghanistan.
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