Pakistan summons Afghan envoy over terrorist attack on Rangers camp in Karachi

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on Monday that the Afghan chargé d’affaires was summoned and issued a strong demarche over the terrorist attack on the Rangers camp in Karachi.

On Saturday, security forces foiled a terrorist attack in Karachi, in which three Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) personnel embraced martyrdom and four others were injured. The attack, according to the military’s media wing, was launched by “Khwarij belonging to Indian proxy, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar”. The assailants, after a blast at the main gate at the Rangers camp, attempted to breach the perimeter security but were pushed back by personnel who killed three Kharjis and captured one, identified as an Afghan national, in an injured condition.

According to Andrabi, "the Afghan chargé d’affaires was summoned to the MoFA last night, and a strong demarche was issued regarding the Karachi terrorist attack. A similar demarche was conveyed by Pakistan’s Ambassador, Mr Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani, to the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

He said the demarche "was issued in light of the fact that Afghan nationals, including one apprehended alive, participated in this attack, proving yet again that Afghan soil and Afghan nationals continue to be used to orchestrate terrorist attacks inside Pakistan."

Earlier, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said security forces had carried out precision strikes on terrorist camps and safe havens of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al-Khawarij in Afghanistan’s Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces, killing 29 terrorists. The strikes were conducted under Operation Ghazab Lil Haq on the night of June 28-29 after an attack on a Rangers camp in Karachi.

Operation Ghazab Lil Haq was launched around the end of February, followed by renewed clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, with the Afghan Taliban forces firing on multiple locations, prompting swift military retaliation by Islamabad. The clashes intensified after Afghanistan launched a border offensive in response to Pakistani air strikes targeting terrorist positions.

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In May, Pakistan had summoned the Afghan chargé d’affaires and issued a “strong démarche” over a vehicle-borne IED attack carried out by Fitna al-Khawarij on a police post in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu District, which martyred 15 police constables.

Terrorists had rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the Fateh Khel police checkpoint, martyring 15 personnel and injuring three others. The attack triggered a massive blast that destroyed the checkpoint and left several personnel trapped under the debris.

The demarche "conveyed that a detailed investigation into the incident, along with evidence and technical intelligence, indicated that the attack was masterminded by terrorists residing in Afghanistan," MoFA had said.

It added, "Reiterating Pakistan’s grave concern over the continued use of Afghan soil for terrorist attacks against Pakistan, it was impressed upon the Afghan side that Pakistan reserves the right to respond decisively against the perpetrators of this barbaric act."