Pakistan issues demarche to Afghanistan over Chitral attack: FM

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on Saturday confirmed that Pakistan has issued a demarche to Afghanistan following a terrorist attack on two military posts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lower Chitral district, ARY News reported.

“Pakistan registered a strong protest over the incident, summoned the Afghan charge d’affaires and handed over a protest note (demarche) to him,” the foreign minister said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad.

FM Jalil Abbas Jilani said the Chitral incident was “very unfortunate” and said Pakistan was taking the recent rise in terrorism very seriously.

“It is the responsibility of the Afghan government that if attacks are occurring in Pakistan from their soil then it should stop them,” he added.

The caretaker minister hoped that the Afghan government would suppress all such elements, whether it is the “Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or others.”

Meanwhile, caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said it was the expectation of Islamabad and the world from the Afghan Taliban that they would honour the Doha agreement and not allow Afghanistan’s soil to be used for schemes against other countries.

Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities in recent months, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the government in November last year.

Earlier on Wednesday, four Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred and 12 terrorists killed in Chitral attack on the Pak-Afghan border.

The Army media wing said that there was information about the terrorists’ movement in Nuristan and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan. The security forces timely action resulted in the killing of 12 terrorists.

During the fire exchange, four Pakistan Army soldiers having fought gallantly embraced martyrdom.

The clearance operation of security operation is underway to apprehend remaining terrorists as well, it added.