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Pakistan summons Afghan Taliban envoy after attack on Bannu Cantt
- Reuters
- Jul 17, 2024
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign ministry summoned the Afghan Taliban’s deputy head of mission on Wednesday and urged the latter’s administration to take action against Afghanistan-based militant groups that Islamabad said attacked a military base in Bannu this week.
Militants attacked the army base in Bannu in Khyber Pakhtunkwa on Monday, ramming a vehicle loaded with explosives into the perimeter wall and martyring eight Pakistan army soldiers. All the 10 terrorists were killed in the exchange of fire, the ISPR said earlier.
The attack was claimed by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, which Pakistan’s military said operates out of neighbouring Afghanistan.
Islamabad says it has consistently taken up the issue of rising cross-border attacks with the Taliban administration, raising tensions between the neighbours whose security forces have clashed at the border in recent years.
The Taliban, whose spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has previously denied allowing the use of Afghan territory by militants.
“Pakistan reiterated its serious concerns over the presence of terror outfits inside Afghanistan that continue to threaten Pakistan’s security,” Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement.
It urged Taliban authorities to “fully investigate and take immediate, robust and effective action against the perpetrators of the Bannu attack and to prevent the recurrence of such attacks.”
Pakistan has carried intelligence-based operations inside Afghanistan to target militant groups, which the Taliban say included airstrikes in March.