Pakistan summons Afghan envoy over Bannu suicide attack

Pakistan on Monday summoned the Afghan Taliban regime's chargé d'affaires and delivered a strong demarche over the deadly suicide attack on a police post in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Bannu district, warning that Islamabad reserved the right to respond decisively against those responsible.

The move came two days after a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) attack targeted the Fateh Khel Police Post in Bannu on May 9, leaving 15 police constables martyred and four others injured, including a civilian.

In a sharply worded statement issued by the Foreign Office, Pakistan said that a detailed investigation, backed by evidence and technical intelligence, indicated that the attack had been "masterminded by terrorists residing in Afghanistan."

"The Afghan Chargé d'Affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today [Monday] to deliver a strong demarche regarding the cowardly vehicle-borne IED attack carried out by terrorists of Fitna-al-Khawarij on the Fateh Khel Police Post," the statement said.

Islamabad reiterated its longstanding concern over the continued use of Afghan soil for terrorist attacks against Pakistan and stressed that the Afghan Taliban had failed to take "concrete and verifiable action" against militant groups operating from their territory.

"It was impressed upon the Afghan side that Pakistan reserves the right to respond decisively against the perpetrators of this barbaric act," the Foreign Office said.

The statement said the continued presence of terrorist organisations in Afghanistan and the "permissive environment" enabling their operations had been documented in reports of the UN Monitoring Team and other international organisations.

Pakistan specifically referred to Fitna-al-Khawarij, Fitna-al-Hindustan and ISKP/Daesh, saying it had repeatedly urged the Afghan Taliban regime to act against these groups.

According to the Foreign Office, Pakistan had also engaged constructively with the Afghan Taliban through several rounds of talks mediated by "brotherly and friendly countries," but Kabul had consistently failed to commit to or deliver meaningful action against the outfits.

The latest demarche reflects a further deterioration in already strained ties between Islamabad and Kabul amid a surge in cross-border militant attacks.

Pakistani officials have repeatedly stated that Afghanistan's Taliban rulers allowed anti-Pakistan terrorist groups, particularly the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to operate from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan, a charge the Afghan Taliban deny.

The Bannu attack was among the deadliest assaults on security personnel in recent months and triggered renewed debate within Pakistan over how to deal with the growing militant threat emanating from across the border. The Foreign Office warned that Pakistan would not compromise on its national security or the safety of its citizens if the Afghan Taliban regime continued to harbour terrorist organisations.