FO: Terrorists were the target of airstrikes, not Afghan civilians

FO: Terrorists were the target of airstrikes, not Afghan civilians

According to the Foreign Office, terrorists were targeted by Pakistani military aircraft on targets in Afghanistan on Thursday rather than ordinary civilians.

FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at the weekly briefing that Islamabad has repeatedly given Kabul proof that there were terrorists on Afghan land, reiterating that the nation would not stand for terrorist activity on its property.

Based on intelligence information, an operation was carried out on March 18 against terrorist groups associated with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Gul Bahadur, according to Baloch.

According to the most recent reports, the Pakistan-Afghan border is peaceful, and Islamabad wants to work with Kabul to find a solution to any problems that may arise.

“We honor Afghanistan’s sovereignty,” the FO spokesman insisted.

The spokesperson denounced the Israeli forces’ onslaught on Gaza’s hospitals, calling it “barbaric” and classifying it as a war crime. She further stressed that targeting children is nothing less than that.

Emphasizing the prohibition on 14 political parties in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the FO representative denounced the restriction on the right to free speech.

Baloch advocated the right to self-determination for Kashmiris and expressed grave concerns over breaches of human rights occurring in the occupied valley.

In retaliation for a terrorist attack in Mir Ali, North Waziristan on March 16 that claimed the lives of seven Pakistani soldiers, including two officers, Pakistan launched airstrikes on Afghanistan on Monday.

The Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, which, together with the TTP, was responsible for several terrorist assaults within Pakistan that claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians and law enforcement officers, was the operation’s objective, according to a statement released by the FO.

“The latest attack took place on 16 March 2024 at a security post in Mir Ali in North Waziristan and claimed the lives of seven Pakistani soldiers,” it stated.

Pakistan was forced to take such drastic measure, and the statement clarified why.

“Pakistan has often expressed to the Interim Afghan Government over the last two years its grave concerns over the existence of terrorist groups, such as the TTP, within Afghanistan.