ISLAMABAD: Jalil Abbas Jilani, Pakistan’s interim Foreign Minister, has stated that Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants conducted the attack in Pakistan’s Chitral district without the sanction of the Taliban government of Afghanistan. Jilani made these remarks during a briefing to a Senate standing committee at Parliament House.
Minister Jilani characterized the Chitral attack as an “isolated incident” and expressed the belief that it had no approval from the Afghan government. He also mentioned that Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul raised the issue of the cross-border attack with the Afghan government. Additionally, he noted that the interim Afghan government should have issued a statement on the incident.
The Pakistan military issued a statement indicating that they had detected terrorist movement in Afghanistan’s Nuristan and Kunar provinces prior to the attack. The authorities also shared the information with the interim Afghan government. The statement emphasized the expectation that the interim Afghan government would fulfill its obligations to prevent the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for carrying out acts of terrorism against Pakistan.
The terrorist attack in Chitral resulted in a day-long clash between Pakistani soldiers and TTP militants, leading to the deaths of at least 12 terrorists and the martyrdom of four Pakistani soldiers, as reported by the military.
Pakistan Seeks Global Attention On US Arms Left In Afghanistan
Meanwhile, during a weekly media briefing, Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch emphasized that Pakistan’s security agencies are resolute in their commitment to eliminating terrorism within the country. Commenting on the recent clashes along the Pak-Afghan border, the spokesperson remarked that there is a global need to address the issue of weapons left in Afghanistan after the US withdrawal. The terrorists are now using these weapons to target Pakistan.
Mumtaz further elaborated that the Pakistani authorities raised the matter of terrorist attacks originating from Afghanistan with the Afghan authorities. She emphasized that while Pakistan isn’t blaming any specific party, the global community should focus on the weapons left in Afghanistan, which have now fallen into the hands of terrorist groups.
