Skip to main content

Airstrikes targeted terrorists, not Afghans civilians: FO

The Foreign Office said on Thursday that the airstrikes by the Pakistan armed forces on targets in Afghanistan hit terrorsts and not the local civilian population.  Addressing the weekly briefing, FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Islamabad had provided Kabul with evidence of terrorists on Afghan soil a number of times, maintaining that the country will not tolerate terrorist activities on its territory.  “On March 18, an operation was conducted against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Gul Bahadur terrorist groups based on intelligence information,” said Baloch. She added that as per the latest reports, calm prevails on the Pak-Afghan border and Islamabad wishes to jointly resolve all conflicts with Kabul. “We respect the sovereignty of Afghanistan,” maintained the FO spokesperson. Condemning the attack on hospitals in Gaza by Israeli forces, the spokesperson said targeting innocent children is nothing less than barbarism, adding that this act falls under the category of war crimes. Read: Pakistan shifts stance on Afghan Taliban Highlighting the ban on 14 political parties in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the FO official condemned the ban on freedom of expression. Baloch voiced serious concerns about human rights violations in the occupied valley and demanded Kashmiri’s right to self-determination. Pakistan on Monday carried airstrikes in Afghanistan in response to a March 16 terrorist attack in Mir Ali, North Waziristan, in which seven Pakistani soldiers, including two officers, were martyred. A statement issued by the FO said the target of the operation was the terrorists belonging to Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, which along with TTP, was responsible for multiple terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and law enforcement officials. "The latest attack took place on 16 March 2024 at a security post in Mir Ali in North Waziristan and claimed the lives of seven Pakistani soldiers," it added. The statement explained as to why Pakistan was compelled to take that extreme step. "Over the past two years, Pakistan has repeatedly conveyed its serious concerns to the Interim Afghan Government over the presence of terror outfits including TTP inside Afghanistan. These terrorists pose a grave threat to Pakistan’s security and have consistently used Afghan territory to launch terror attacks inside Pakistani territory," said the foreign office.

from Pakistan News, Latest News Pakistan, Pakistan Headline | The Express Tribune https://ift.tt/6Ki0tyM
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Govt, PTI kick off second round of talks ahead of Oct 4 long march

The second round of talks between the government and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf began on Saturday, with National Assembly (NA) Speaker Ayaz Sadiq chairing the session, according to a statement issued by the National Assembly (NA) on X. A day earlier, the first round of talks between the government and opposition concluded with the two sides deciding to meet again on Saturday (today) in the NA speaker’s chamber. The negotiations come amid continued tensions after PTI’s announcement of a long march towards Islamabad on September 27 that was rescheduled to October 4. Currently, the standoff between the federal and provincial governments remains unresolved. The speaker said the previous day’s session was held in a “very cordial atmosphere” and expressed hope that all sides would continue the dialogue in the same spirit. Sadiq also thanked members of the government, PPP and opposition for participating in the talks. حکومت، پ...
Post a Comment
Read more

PTI dismisses PM Shehbaz's 'mere offer' for talks, says govt can initiate contact with opposition leadership

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday dismissed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's proposal for renewed talks as a "mere offer”, while saying that the government could contact leaders of the opposition in the National Assembly and Senate for negotiations if it were sincere. The statement came amid heightened political tensions in the country as the PTI's long march reached Kohat. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi is leading the convoy, which began its march towards Islamabad on Sunday to demand the release of party founder Imran Khan and press the government over what PTI describes as broader political and constitutional grievances. The convoy is currently in Kohat after travelling through Lakki Marwat and Karak, and is expected to depart for Peshawar later today as the party continues its phased mobilisation towards the federal capital. PM Shehbaz earlier today renewed an offer of talks to the PTI, saying the government was prepared to ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pakistan rejects India's 'internal matter' claim on Kashmir at UN

Pakistan on Saturday rejected India's characterisation of Jammu and Kashmir as an internal matter, telling a United Nations General Assembly committee that the territory's final status remains unresolved and must be determined in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people. Speaking during the general debate of the Third Committee of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, Pakistan's First Secretary Sarfraz Ahmed Gohar said Islamabad rejected New Delhi's assertion that Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India. "Pakistan categorically rejects India's futile attempts to dismiss the Jammu and Kashmir dispute as a so-called internal matter," Gohar said, according to remarks shared by Pakistan's Permanent Mission to the UN. Pakistan categorically rejects India's futile attempts to dismiss the Jammu and Kashmir dispute as a so-called internal matter. Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory, and it...
Post a Comment
Read more