Islamabad (TDI): The Foreign Office (FO) on Thursday said that Pakistani forces conduct “operations in border areas to protect the people of Pakistan from terrorist groups”, Dawn.com reported.
The statement came a day after the Taliban administration accused Pakistan of carrying out an airstrike on its territory on Tuesday, they also lodged protest formally.
The air strike was carried out when attacks in the bordering areas by militants against Pakistani forces and incident of terrorism in Pakistan witnessed surge in recent days.
The statement by the FO is first formal word by the government after the Tuesday’s airstrike, which officials said to have targeted suspected terrorists.
Pakistan’s security officials late on Tuesday night had reportedly said that fighter jets bombed four locations, said to be TTP camps, in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province, targeting and neutralising several suspected terrorists.
Also Read: Pakistani Forces Retaliate Attack from Afghanistan
To a query by Dawn.com the FO said: “Our security and law enforcement personnel conduct operations in border areas to protect the people of Pakistan from terrorist groups. These counterterrorism operations are carefully selected and based on accurate intelligence.” Pakistan had “always prioritised dialogue in matters relating to ties with Afghanistan”, the FO Spokesperson stressed.
“We respect Afghanistan’s integrity and sovereignty,” in a written reply, FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told Dawn.com.
Stating that protecting its citizens was Pakistan’s top priority, the FO spokesperson reiterated that there were “threats posed by terrorist elements to Pakistan and its citizens”.
“Pakistan is committed to the security of its public,” Baloch said.
FO on Security and Border Management
She added that Special Representative Sadiq Khan met several Afghan officials in Kabul and that the two countries remain in touch to “discuss security, border management, trade and many other issues”.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson emphasised that social media messages “coming from terrorists” cannot be believed.
“We do not communicate with other countries through the media,” she said. “Pakistan has clear communication channels with the Afghan administration. We have been in continuous contact with Afghanistan for the last two days.”
Also Read: Pakistan Asks Taliban to Act Against Terrorists in Afghanistan
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s foreign ministry said it summoned the Charge d’Affaires of the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul on Wednesday afternoon and handed over a formal protest note regarding the bombing “near the Durand Line in the Bermal district of Paktika province”.
The ministry, in its statement, said the “violation” was condemned and alleged that the move was “an attempt by certain Pakistani factions to create distrust between the two countries” as the two sides engaged in talks.
This is not for the first time that cross border operation was reported by Pakistani forces.
