Pakistan denies Afghanistan’s involvement in Chitral attack

Pakistan’s Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani said on Friday that the Chitral terrorist attack is an “isolated” incident and it does not appear to have been authorized by the Afghan authorities.

Talking to reporters informally after briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Jilani said that Pakistan has taken up the issue of rising terrorist attacks in the country emanating from Afghanistan with the Islamic Emirate and that the two sides are in touch with each other, Business Recorder reported.

“We are in dialogue with the interim Afghan government (IEA)…the talks are yielding positive results,” the caretaker foreign minister said.

However, he said that Thursday;s terrorist attack in Chitral is different and an isolated incident. “I don’t believe that it has been sanctioned by the Afghan interim government authorities (IEA),” he added.

On Thursday, Pakistan’s army said that four soldiers and 12 terrorists were killed when a large group of militants equipped with the latest weapons attacked two military outposts located close to the Afghanistan border in Chitral district’s general area of Kalash.

“Terrorists’ movement and concentration in Gawardesh, Pitigal, Barg-i-Matal and Batash areas of Nuristan and Kunar provinces of Afghanistan had already been picked up and were timely shared with interim Afghan government. The valiant soldiers fought bravely and repulsed the attacks inflicting heavy casualties on the terrorists,” Pakistan army’s media wing said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Friday called on IEA to fulfill obligations to deny the use of Afghan soil by the terrorists for perpetuating acts of terrorism against Pakistan.

She said that Pakistan’s security concerns are relevant to the opening or closure of the border. Torkham border crossing closed following a clash between security forces of the two countries on Wednesday.

Baloch also expressed concern that a “large amount of weaponry that is available in Afghanistan and has now reached some terrorists entities as well, continue to pose a threat to Pakistan, especially when these terrorist entities attack Pakistani civilian and military targets. “

IEA has previously rejected claims that weaponry left by foreign forces in Afghanistan have fallen in the hands of terrorists. It has emphasized that it will not allow anyone to use Afghanistan soil against any other country.