Islamabad, February 22 Pakistan claimed on Sunday that it had killed 70 terrorists in military strikes targeting at least seven militant hideouts in Afghanistan in retaliation for recent rebel attacks in the country.
"Afghanistan has long been exporting terrorism. Pakistan is taking all necessary measures to protect the lives and property of its citizens," said Pakistan's State Minister for Interior, Talal Chaudhry, while speaking on Geo News' program.
Earlier, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting confirmed the strikes in retaliation for recent suicide bombings in Islamabad, Bajaur, and Bannu, even as Kabul warned of a "necessary and measured response" to the strikes.
In the latest terrorist incident, an army lieutenant colonel and a soldier were killed in a suicide attack in the Bannu area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Saturday.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Pakistan has conclusive evidence that these acts of terrorism, including one at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad, one each in Bajaur and Bannu, followed by another incident in Bannu on Saturday, were allegedly perpetrated by Khwarij, acting on the behest of their leadership based in Afghanistan.
"The responsibility for these attacks has also been claimed by Pakistani Taliban belonging to Fitna-al-Khwarij (FAK) and their affiliates, as well as the Islamic State of Khorsan Province (ISKP)," the ministry said.
Fitna-al-Khwarij is a term used by the state for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
It said that despite repeated efforts by Pakistan to urge the Afghan Taliban regime to take verifiable measures to prevent the use of Afghan territory by terrorist groups and foreign proxies to carry out terrorist activities in Pakistan, it "failed" to take any substantive action against them.
"In this context, Pakistan has carried out targeted attacks, based on intelligence, against seven terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to Pakistani Taliban of FAK and its affiliates and ISKP in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with precision and accuracy," it said.
Chaudhry said that most of the 70 terrorists killed were Pakistani nationals. "There is ample evidence suggesting that most of the slain terrorists were Pakistanis," he said.
He emphasized that during the 2020 Doha accords, the Afghan Taliban had promised the world that they would not allow their soil to be used for terrorism, but the Kabul interim government had failed to live up to their promise to stop terrorism.
Pakistan on Sunday said that it expects and reiterates that the interim Afghan government will fulfill its obligations.
Pakistan also expects the international community to play a positive and constructive role by urging the Taliban regime to stand by its commitments as part of the Doha Agreement to deny the use of its soil against other countries, which is vital for regional and global peace and security, the ministry stated.
It further said that Pakistan has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region, but at the same time, "the safety and security of our citizens remains our top priority".
Following the attacks, the Taliban Foreign Ministry summoned Pakistan's ambassador to Kabul, Ubaid ur Rehman Nizamani, and handed him a protest note over the attacks, according to sources.
Afghanistan, in a statement, warned that the Pakistani strikes on the provinces of Paktika and Nangarhar will be met with a "necessary and measured response".
"Our borders and the security of our people is our sacred religious and national duty," Afghanistan's Defence Ministry said, adding that "at the appropriate time, a necessary and measured response will be delivered to these aggressions".
It termed the strikes as a "clear violation" of Afghanistan's national sovereignty, international law, principles of good neighbourliness, and Islamic values, adding that the attacks targeted civilian and religious centres, calling them "clear evidence" of intelligence and security failures within Pakistan.
The statement said that Afghanistan will not remain silent in the face of continued cross-border violations and reaffirmed the country's right to defend its territorial integrity.
Relations between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban have deteriorated due to the alleged failure of Kabul to stop terrorists from using its soil to attack Pakistan.
Last year in October, the two sides were briefly engaged in an armed conflict in which 23 Pakistan soldiers and over 200 Afghan Taliban soldiers were killed, according to the Pakistan army.
