Pakistan on Friday summoned the in charge of the Afghan diplomatic mission in Islamabad to record a strong protest over the recent cross-border terrorist attack by a large number of terrorists in Chitral district, even as the foreign minister termed the Kelash attack as an “isolated incident” and said it was not “sanctioned” by the Afghan Taliban.
However, Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani apparently exonerated the Afghan Taliban government of its role. “It [Chitral incident] was an isolated incident and we don’t think it had their [Afghan government] sanction,” Jilani told reporters after attending the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Earlier speaking at the weekly news briefing, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Pakistan was concerned at the use of Afghan soil against Pakistan and said those concerns were communicated to the Afghan authorities.
“Pakistan is concerned about the recent incident that took place and the terrorist attack on military posts. We are engaged with the interim government of Afghanistan. We have shared our concerns with regards to the terrorist threat against Pakistan that emanates from Afghan soil. This dialogue will continue,” she added.
In a weekly media briefing, spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch stated that Pakistan’s security agencies were determined to eradicate terrorism from the country. She added that Pakistan has informed the interim Afghan government about its concerns regarding the recent incident along the border.