DERA ISMAIL KHAN: The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan, has announced to hold direct talks with Kabul on issues of militant groups based in Afghanistan that Islamabad claims are responsible for terror attacks inside Pakistan.
Addressing a ceremony on Wednesday evening, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur expressed frustration over the current security situation, stating, “My [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa] police have lost trust, my people have lost trust. Where are you [federal government, army] taking my youth, my people?”
He proposed sending a representative for Direct Talks with Kabul, emphasizing the shared language and extensive border between the two countries.
Gandapur declared, “I will personally talk to Afghanistan and arrange a meeting. I am committed to resolving this issue through dialogue.”
Pakistan has experienced a recent surge in militant attacks, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Groups such as the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have increased their assaults, targeting security force convoys, checkpoints, and conducting targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcement and government officials.
Continuous Ambush from Beyond Borders
According to police data, over 75 policemen have been killed in ambushes and targeted attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the current year.
The latest incident occurred on Thursday when unidentified gunmen killed a policeman in Domail, a town on the outskirts of Bannu district.
In response, police, along with civil society representatives, political parties, tribal elders, and local residents, are staging protests in various districts of the province against the rising militancy and attacks on security personnel.
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A police man and polio worker were also killed in a terror attack on polio team in Bajaur district on Wednesday.
Islamabad said that militants, primarily linked to the TTP, frequently launch attacks from their hideouts in Afghanistan, targeting Pakistani police and security forces.
The Pakistani government has also accused Kabul’s Taliban rulers of facilitating these anti-Pakistan militants, a claim that Kabul denies.
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Islamabad has previously raised the issue of cross-border attacks with the Taliban administration, which has consistently denied allegations of allowing Afghan soil to be used for attacks.
Tensions have escalated between the two countries, with recent clashes including an incident when Pakistani security forces killed eight Afghan Taliban fighters in a border skirmish, following what Islamabad described as “unprovoked firing” on Pakistani checkpoints.
