ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office said on Thursday that the airstrikes by the Pakistan armed forces on targets in Afghanistan hit terrorsts and not the local civilian population. Addressing the weekly briefing, FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Islamabad had provided Kabul with evidence of terrorists on Afghan soil a number of times, maintaining that the country will not tolerate terrorist activities on its territory.
“On March 18, an operation was conducted against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Gul Bahadur terrorist groups based on intelligence information,” said Baloch.
She added that as per the latest reports, calm prevails on the Pak-Afghan border and Islamabad wishes to jointly resolve all conflicts with Kabul.
“We respect the sovereignty of Afghanistan,” maintained the FO spokesperson.
Condemning the attack on hospitals in Gaza by Israeli forces, the spokesperson said targeting innocent children is nothing less than barbarism, adding that this act falls under the category of war crimes.
Highlighting the ban on 14 political parties in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the FO official condemned the ban on freedom of expression.
Baloch voiced serious concerns about human rights violations in the occupied valley and demanded Kashmiri’s right to self-determination.
Pakistan on Monday carried airstrikes in Afghanistan in response to a March 16 terrorist attack in Mir Ali, North Waziristan, in which seven Pakistani soldiers, including two officers, were martyred.
A statement issued by the FO said the target of the operation was the terrorists belonging to Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, which along with TTP, was responsible for multiple terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and law enforcement officials.
“The latest attack took place on 16 March 2024 at a security post in Mir Ali in North Waziristan and claimed the lives of seven Pakistani soldiers,” it added.
The statement explained as to why Pakistan was compelled to take that extreme step.
“Over the past two years, Pakistan has repeatedly conveyed its serious concerns to the Interim Afghan Government over the presence of terror outfits including TTP inside Afghanistan. These terrorists pose a grave threat to Pakistan’s security and have consistently used Afghan territory to launch terror attacks inside Pakistani territory,” said the foreign office. –Agencies
