Porous border: Seven troops killed in Bajaur border incursion

KHAR/ ISLAMABAD:

Seven soldiers were killed and as many were injured in two cross-border attacks by Taliban militants on military outposts in Bajaur Agency on the border with Afghanistan. The deadly attacks, which prompted an angry condemnation from Islamabad, took place four days after the security forces repelled a similar incursion in the same region.

Military and administration officials confirmed the latest attacks on Mano Zanagal and Mokha Top outposts, in Mamond tehsil. Heavily armed militants crossed over from northeastern Afghanistan Wednesday morning and attacked a military post in the Mano Zangal area. In the afternoon, militants again intruded from Afghanistan and targeted Mokha Top post with heavy weapons, triggering skirmishes that continued intermittently the whole day.

“Seven soldiers embraced shahdat (martyrdom) while seven were injured,” a security official said.

It was the third cross-border incursion by militants over the last 10 days. The last such attack was on May 31 when 200-plus intruders had attacked Nao Top post in Warra Mamond tehsil. The attack was repelled and 14 attackers were killed in the process. One soldier had also died in the combat.

Bajaur Agency shares a border with Afghanistan’s northeastern province of Kunar, where according to officials, Mullah Fazlullah-led Taliban fighters have been sheltering since they were routed in a massive military operation from the scenic valley of Swat in 2008. Since then, militants have been using the Afghan soil as a springboard for mounting cross-border attacks on Pakistani posts.

In Islamabad, Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam strongly condemned the ‘terrorist attack’, urging Kabul to stop such unprovoked incidents. “Pakistan condemns these unprovoked attacks. This matter has been raised with the Afghan government in Kabul and with their embassy in Islamabad,” she said in a statement.

She said Afghanistan must take concrete steps to stop the use of its territory against Pakistan. For its part, Pakistan remains committed to supporting all efforts for peace and stability in Afghanistan, she insisted.

The spokeswoman said Pakistan’s concerns about miscreants and terrorists attacking from the other side of the border had been repeatedly shared with Afghan authorities.

“We hope effective steps would be taken to prevent recurrence of such incidents. For its part, Pakistan would continue to exercise restraint and make efforts to maintain conducive environment for constructive engagement. We remain committed to maintaining a tranquil border especially in the run-up to second round of Afghan elections,” she added.

Kabul, on its part, has accused Pakistani military of targeting civilian population in northeastern Afghanistan and sought American help to get such attacks stopped. However, US Ambassador James Cunningham advised Kabul to resolve bilateral border disputes with Pakistan diplomatically.

Tribal elders in Mamond tehsil have frequently protested cross-border attacks by militants. At a recent Jirga, Malik Abdul Aziz of Mamond tribe and other elders had lent their full support to the political administration and paramilitary Frontier Crops. They had warned that if the cross-border incursions didn’t stop, they would raise a lashkar (tribal legion) to fight the militants.

The recent attacks might have been triggered by the military’s move to set up outposts in Kaga Pass, Makha and Mano Zangal areas of Mamond tehsil in an effort to plug the porous border. Such incursions had also spiked in June 2012 when the military had established outposts in the Batwar area of Salarzai tehsil.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2014.