RAWALPINDI: Two Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred in an exchange of fire with terrorists across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district on Wednesday, the military’s media affairs wing said in a statement.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), terrorists inside Afghanistan opened fire on a military checkpost in the Dwatoi area of North Waziristan. Pakistan Army troops responded in a “befitting manner”, it said.
During the exchange of fire, two soldiers identified as 35-year-old Lance Naik Pervaiz and 43-year-old Havaldar Saleem were martyred, the ISPR statement said.
The ISPR said it strongly condemned the “continuous use of Afghan soil for terrorist activities against Pakistan”, adding that Pakistan has “consistently been asking Afghanistan to ensure effective border control on their side”. Such attacks have become more frequent recently. In May, at least five soldiers were martyred and seven others injured in multiple incidents of cross-border fire from Afghanistan.
Last month, Pakistan Army’s top brass had taken serious notice of the cross-border firing incidents emanating from Afghanistan and regrouping of terrorist leadership and outfits across the border, and expressed the hope that Afghanistan’s soil “will not be used against Pakistan”.
“In light of emerging regional security situation, Pakistan has taken effective border management measures and the same is expected from Afghanistan to deny any space to spoilers of peace,” the commanders stressed during the 241st Corps Commanders Conference. As the United States withdraws its troops from Afghanistan, there are fears that violence will increase and could also spill over to neighbouring states, including Pakistan.
Earlier in May, Pakistan along with the US, China and Russia had urged the Afghan government and the Taliban to ensure that Afghan soil is not used to threaten the security of any other country. “We call on all Afghans including the government of the Islamic Republic and the Taliban to ensure that terrorist groups and individuals do not use Afghan soil to threaten the security of any other country,” they said in a joint statement issued in Washington.
FO rebuffs Kabuls statement on TTP: Earlier on Monday, The Foreign Office had refuted Afghanistan’s claims that the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) does not operate on its soil and said that evidence suggests otherwise as there are over 5,000 TTP members in Afghanistan. “Over the last many years, TTP has launched several gruesome terrorist attacks inside Pakistan using the Afghan soil without any retribution from its hosts,” a statement issued in this regard had said. Citing the 12th Report of the UN Monitoring Team issued in June 2021, the foreign office had said that the TTP is known to have “distinctive anti-Pakistan objectives,” while the report notes its location within Afghanistan “near the border with Pakistan”.
“The TTP, following its orchestrated reunification with its splinter groups with the help of Hostile Intelligence Agencies (HIAs), its continued presence in Afghanistan with impunity and its cross-border attacks against Pakistan, pose a persistent threat to our security and stability,” the statement had said. It had further added that Pakistan’s commitment to fighting terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, without any discrimination, is unwavering and unambiguous.
“Pakistan has continued to emphasise the need for meaningful engagement with the Afghan side for addressing security and terrorism issues through effective use of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS).”
Per the Foreign Office, Pakistan has been making “serious and sincere efforts for facilitating the intra-Afghan peace process for an inclusive political settlement.”
“We hope that Afghans would seize this opportunity for achieving lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan.”
