Daily Times

The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday strongly condemned the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for activities against Pakistan.

In a statement, FO Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri called upon the Afghan government to take immediate action against terrorists and terrorist groups finding sanctuaries in Afghanistan to target Pakistani security forces.

A day earlier, on January 6, a Frontier Corps (FC) soldier embraced martyrdom when terrorists from inside Afghanistan fired across the international border at a military checkpoint in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mohmand district, the military said.

According to the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), 25-year-old Sepoy Fazal Wahid, a resident of Shangla in Swat valley, sustained bullet injuries during the exchange of fire and succumbed to his wounds later on. The Pakistani troops responded promptly to the attack, the ISPR maintained.

Pakistan has consistently been raising the issue of effective border management with the Afghan authorities on their side of the border to check cross-border terrorist incidents.

In November last year, another FC soldier embraced martyrdom while two others sustained injuries when terrorists attacked a security checkpoint along the Pak-Afghan border in Balochistan’s Zhob district.

Naik Fakhr Abbas, 22, was martyred and two other FC soldiers injured in the ambush, the ISPR said in a statement. In another checkpoint attack in October, a soldier was martyred and another was injured in the Bajaur sector. Terrorists fired from across the border on a Pakistan Army post along the Pak- Afghan Border in Bajaur, the military’s media wing tweeted. “Resultantly, Havaldar Tanveer embraced Shahadat while one soldier got injured,” it further said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan on Thursday welcomed the start of 2nd round of Intra Afghan Negotiations in Doha and called upon both the sides remain constructively engaged and show flexibility in the negotiations.

“We call upon both sides to remain constructively engaged and show flexibility in the negotiations for reaching an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensive political settlement which would lead to lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said in his weekly press briefing.

He said the two teams had made significant progress by finalizing the rules and procedures last month and had now reconvened to negotiate on substantive issues.

Hoping that the two sides would prioritize working out a roadmap for reduction in violence and ceasefire in the negotiations, the spokesperson reiterated its abiding commitment to a peaceful, stable, united, sovereign, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan.

Pakistan also welcomed the decision by the Saudi Arabia and State of Qatar to reopen the land, air and sea borders between the two countries.

He also appreciated other steps being taken by the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to resolve the four decades old outstanding issues between the GCC countries.

He lauded the positive role played by the Emir of Kuwait towards resolution of differences and reiterated that Pakistan continued to accord high importance to its relations with the GCC and its member states.

Mentioning the observance of Kashmiris’ Right to Self-determination Day observed on January 5, 2021, the spokesperson said the Day reminded the international community, in particular the UN Security Council, of the imperative of honouring its commitment towards the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

In their messages on the Day, Prime Minister Imran Khan, President Arif Alvi and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi highlighted grave human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and urged the international community to ensure that the perpetrators of these heinous crimes against humanity are held accountable.

He told media that Pakistan had approached the UN Secretary General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Union to seek immediate release of Kashmiri human rights activist and political leader, Asiya Andrabi, who remains incarcerated in infamous Tihar Jail in India.