ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s security forces responded immediately to unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban along the Torkham and Tirah sectors of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, officials said on Tuesday. Prime Minister’s spokesperson for foreign media, Mosharraf Zaidi, said Pakistan would respond “immediately and severely” to any further provocation while continuing to protect its citizens and territorial integrity.
The development follows Pakistan’s recent air strikes on terrorist camps in Nangarhar and Paktika provinces over the weekend, which reportedly killed more than 80 terrorists linked to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State-Khorasan. The strikes were carried out in retaliation for attacks inside Pakistan, including a suicide bombing in Islamabad and assaults in Bannu and Bajaur that left 11 soldiers and a young girl dead.
Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Afghan Taliban regime to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil, but officials say these appeals have largely gone unheeded. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and military officials warned that operations would continue across the border if attacks persisted, emphasizing that terrorists were exploiting Afghan territory to target Pakistan.
Tensions along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border have escalated since October last year, with prior clashes resulting in the martyrdom of over 23 Pakistani soldiers and more than 200 Taliban and affiliated terrorists. Islamabad has reaffirmed that it will continue precision operations against perpetrators of cross-border terrorism, irrespective of location.