Afghan envoy demarched over Karachi terrorist attack

Foreign Office protests use of Afghan soil for cross-border terrorism

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan summoned the Afghanistan's chargé d'affaires and lodged a strong protest over the latest terrorist attack on a Rangers camp in Karachi, the Foreign Office said on Monday, hours after Islamabad conducted retaliatory strikes against terrorist hideouts across the border.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Afghan diplomat was called to the Foreign Office and handed a formal demarche over the continued use of Afghan soil for orchestrating terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.

"A similar demarche was conveyed by Pakistan's Ambassador Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani to the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said in a statement.

The spokesperson said the protest was issued in light of evidence that Afghan nationals, including one terrorist apprehended alive, had participated in the Karachi attack.

"These facts prove yet again that Afghan soil and Afghan nationals continue to be used to orchestrate terrorist attacks inside Pakistan," the statement added.

The diplomatic move came hours after Pakistan announced a major intelligence-based military operation and precision strikes against terrorist hideouts belonging to the banned Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al Khawarij in areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

According to Information Minister Atta Tarar, security forces first conducted a ground operation near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Bajaur district on June 28. The operation resulted in the killing of a high-value commander, Khan Farosh alias Zabal, along with three other terrorists linked to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.

"In continuation of Operation Ghazb Lil Haq, based on credible intelligence, precise targeting of terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to outlawed Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and Fitna al Khawarij was carried out on the night of June 28 and 29," Tarar said.

He said that three targets in Afghanistan's Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces were destroyed during the strikes, killing 25 terrorists and destroying large quantities of weapons and ammunition stored at the facilities. Combined with the Bajaur operation, Pakistani authorities said a total of 29 terrorists were killed.

The military action followed a string of terrorist incidents in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and the attack on the Pakistan Rangers camp in Karachi, which officials described as a coordinated campaign by foreign-sponsored militant groups.

Pakistan reiterated that while it remained committed to regional peace and stability, it would not compromise on the safety and security of its citizens. The latest escalation is likely to further strain already tense relations between Islamabad and Kabul, with Pakistan repeatedly accusing the Afghan Taliban administration of failing to prevent terrorist groups from using Afghan territory to launch attacks inside Pakistan. The Afghan authorities, however, have consistently denied such allegations.