On Tuesday, the US Department of State asked Pakistan to guarantee civilian protection during counterterrorism operations and encouraged the Taliban administration in Afghanistan to stop terror acts from occurring on their territory.
After the March 16 incident, Pakistani soldiers conducted intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in Afghanistan’s border regions the day before to combat militants planning to launch strikes into Pakistan from Afghan territory.
In the Mir Ali region of North Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), at least seven Pakistan Army personnel, including a lieutenant colonel and captain, lost their lives in a valiant battle with terrorists during an attack on a security forces station.
Principal deputy spokeswoman for the State Department Vedant Patel stated, “We deeply regret the loss of life and injustices sustained during the attack in Pakistan, and the loss of civilian lives during the strike in Afghanistan.”
“We implore the Taliban to make sure that terrorist strikes do not originate on Afghan territory, and we implore Pakistan to use caution and make sure that their counterterrorism measures do not cause injury to civilians. And we implore all parties to resolve any disagreements,” he continued.
Eight individuals were slain in the war-torn nation, according to the Afghan Taliban, following two airstrikes inside Afghanistan by Pakistani forces.
According to Patel, Washington is still dedicated to making sure that terrorists who want to threaten the United States or its allies never again find a “safe haven” in Afghanistan.
“Any loss of civilian life is troubling and heartbreaking to us, and so we want to make sure that when some of these operations are being conducted, that every step possible is being taken, that it’s the perpetrators that are being held to account, and that it’s not civilians who are being impacted,” the spokesperson said when pressed to elucidate US policy on Pakistani strikes in Afghanistan.
In response to a question, the spokeswoman stated that the US and Pakistani presidents were in regular contact to discuss Afghanistan in depth, including through bilateral discussions and the counterterrorism conversation.
“Pakistan urged Afghanistan to take action repeatedly.”
In a thorough statement released on Monday, the Foreign Office stated that Pakistan continued its activities since Islamabad has consistently expressed to Kabul its grave concerns over the existence of terrorist groups, notably the TTP, within Afghanistan during the previous two years.
According to the statement, these terrorists often exploit Afghan land to commit terror acts inside Pakistani territory, posing a serious danger to Pakistan’s security.
According to the FO, Pakistan places a high value on Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and has always given dialogue and collaboration top priority in the fight against terrorism.
“We have always pushed the Afghan government to act decisively and decisively to guarantee that Afghan territory is not used as a terrorist training ground against Pakistan. In addition, we have demanded that they turn over the TTP’s leadership to Pakistan and stop providing safe havens to the group,” the FO added.
The statement went on to say that while Pakistan has the utmost regard for the Afghan people, some of the country’s powerful individuals openly support the TTP and use them as a front against Pakistan.
“We urge these elements in power to rethink the policy of siding with Khwarij terrorists shedding the blood of innocent Pakistanis and to make a clear choice to stand with the people of Pakistan,” it said.
“We acknowledge the difficulties Afghan authorities have in containing the TTP’s danger. Thus, Pakistan will keep trying to establish cooperative ways to combat terrorism and stop any terrorist group from undermining ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan on a bilateral basis,” the statement said.
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