ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that airstrikes by the Pakistan Armed Forces on targets in Afghanistan hit terrorists and not the local civilian population.
Speaking at a weekly briefing, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that Islamabad had provided Kabul many times with evidence of terrorists on Afghan soil and asserted that the country would not tolerate terrorist activities on its territory.
“On March 18, based on intelligence, an operation was conducted against the terrorist groups Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Gul Bahadur,” Baloch said.
She added that according to the latest reports, there is calm on the Pak-Afghan border and Islamabad wishes to resolve all conflicts with Kabul together.
“We respect the sovereignty of Afghanistan,” said the FO spokesman.
Condemning the Israeli forces’ attack on hospitals in Gaza, the spokesman said the targeting of innocent children was nothing short of barbaric, adding that the act fell under the category of war crimes.
The FO official condemned the ban on freedom of expression, highlighting the ban on 14 political parties in India’s Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
Baloch expressed grave concern over human rights violations in the occupied valley and demanded Kashmir’s right to self-determination.
Pakistan on Monday carried out airstrikes in Afghanistan in response to the 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 operation targeted terrorists belonging to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, which along with the TTP was responsible for numerous terrorist attacks inside Pakistan that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians and law enforcement officials.
“The latest attack took place on March 16, 2024, on a security post in Mir Ali, North Waziristan, claiming the lives of seven Pakistani soldiers,” it added.
The statement explained why Pakistan was forced to take this extreme step.
“Over the past two years, Pakistan has repeatedly conveyed its serious concern to the interim Afghan government over the presence of terrorist outfits, including the TTP, inside Afghanistan. These terrorists pose a serious threat to Pakistan’s security and consistently use Afghan territory to carry out terrorist attacks inside Afghanistan.” Pakistani territory,” the Foreign Office said.
