Daily Times

Interim Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on Saturday said that a demarche was issued to the Afghan charge d’affaires in the wake of the terrorist attack on two military posts in Lower Chitral district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

On Wednesday, at least four security personnel embraced martyrdom while more than 16 militants were killed as militants’ attempts to enter Pakistan from Afghanistan were foiled by troops deployed along the border with Afghanistan. Militants had attacked two security checkposts in the southern part of the district.

Responding to a question in an Islamabad press conference about whether the matter was taken up with the interim Afghan government, the foreign minister said: “Pakistan registered a strong protest over the incident, summoned the Afghan Cd’A in Islamabad Friday and handed over a protest note (demarche) to him.”

FM Jilani said the Chitral incident was “very unfortunate” and said Pakistan was taking the recent rise in terrorism very seriously.

“It is the responsibility of the Afghan government that if attacks are occurring in Pakistan from their soil then it should stop them. So our expectation from the Afghan government is that it suppresses all such elements, whether it is the TTP (Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan) or others.” He said Pakistan was in continued engagement with Afghan authorities. “It will be our demand from the Afghan government that it ensures that such incidents don’t occur again,” Jilani added.

Similarly, caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said it was the expectation of Pakistan and the world from the Afghan Taliban authorities that they would honour the Doha agreement and not allow Afghanistan’s soil to be used for schemes against other countries.