Smoke billows from an Afghan Taliban checkpost after it was targeted by the Pakistan Army, as seen from Upper Kurram. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan Army responded to unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Upper Kurram and Ghozgarhi, with several Taliban personnel reportedly killed in the retaliatory action, state media reported on Saturday.
The army targeted the Afghan Taliban’s Topsar post and Shipola base camp in the Upper Kurram sector with artillery fire, according to security sources. The Shipola base camp was reportedly destroyed.
Several Afghan Taliban personnel were reported killed during the retaliatory action along the Ghozgarhi border. In contrast, Taliban personnel abandoned a border post following the Pakistani response, the sources said, adding that an exchange of fire was continuing in the area.
Later, following another incident of unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban in the Kurram sector along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the Pakistan Army responded with heavy weapons.
The sources said that the Afghan Taliban regime was assisting militants. Several Taliban posts were destroyed in the subsequent retaliatory action, while personnel fled their positions, they added.
The army remained alert and committed to defending the country’s borders and safeguarding national security, the security sources said.
On Friday, the Foreign Office said talks with Afghanistan could not be unconditional, but rejected suggestions that Islamabad was unwilling to engage with its neighbour. It also said Pakistan would welcome sincere efforts by friendly countries to help resolve the dispute.
“Pakistan is not shying away from discussions or dialogue, including with representatives of Afghanistan. Pakistan would welcome any sincere efforts by friendly countries that could help address our legitimate security concerns and promote regional peace and stability,” FO spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said at the weekly media briefing.
The statement came after Russia recently renewed its readiness to mediate between the two countries, although Islamabad denied that any such initiative was currently under discussion.
“At present, I am not aware of any separate, formal Russian mediation initiative being under discussion,” Khan said.
Relations between the two neighbours have remained strained in recent years, with Islamabad repeatedly voicing concerns over cross-border terrorism.
