Islamabad, Sep 6 (IANS) Days after Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry had summoned Pakistan’s Ambassador in Kabul to lodge a formal protest over Pakistani military strikes in the border provinces of Nangarhar and Khost, Islamabad on Saturday admitted that its security forces had recently carried out “targetted operations” in the border regions.

“We urge the Afghan authorities to ensure that their territory is not used as a launchpad for terrorist activities against Pakistan,” Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FPO) spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan was quoted as saying by the country’s leading daily ‘The Express Tribune’ during a weekly media briefing on Saturday.

Taliban Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob has insisted that there are no “terrorist sanctuaries” on the Afghan soil and blamed Pakistan for its own security failures – a claim that was labelled as “an exercise in irony” by the Foreign Office spokesperson on Saturday. He emphasised that terrorist sanctuaries in Afghanistan, especially the Fitna Al Khawarij group, remained a “serious issue” between the two neighbours.

“It has been discussed with utmost seriousness at very senior levels of the state between the two countries… it remains one issue which bedevils relations between two close neighbours,” he stated.

Last week, at least 13 people, including children and women, were killed or injured in the overnight drone strikes in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar and Khost provinces, Afghanistan’s leading news agency Khaama Press had reported.

Local residents accused Pakistani drones of deliberately attacking the civilian homes, causing panic and fear in local communities.

In its protest note, the Afghan Foreign Ministry called Pakistan’s action a violation of Afghan airspace and the bombing of civilian areas near the Durand Line a “blatant breach of Afghanistan’s territorial integrity and a provocative act.” The ministry stressed that protecting Afghanistan’s sovereignty remains a red line for Afghanistan and warned that such “irresponsible actions” will inevitably lead to consequences.

The development comes amid strained ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan over cross-border terrorism. Islamabad has accused the Taliban of providing sanctuary to the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it said, has been carrying out attacks in Pakistan after the Taliban seized power in Kabul.

–IANS

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