Karachi attack proved Afghan soil continues to be used for terrorism in Pakistan
Police officers stand guard outside the main gate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad. Photo: File
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said on Monday that the Afghan charge d’affaires was summoned and took strong action over the terror attack on the Rangers camp in Karachi.
Security forces on Saturday foiled a terror attack in Karachi in which three Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) personnel embraced martyrdom and four others were injured. The attack, according to army media, was launched by “Khwarij belonging to an Indian agent, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar“The attackers, after an explosion at the main entrance to the Ranger camp, attempted to force the security perimeter but were repelled by personnel who killed three people. Kharjis and captured one, identified as an Afghan national, injured.
According to Andrabi, “the Afghan charge d’affaires was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday evening, and a strong demarche was launched regarding the terrorist attack in Karachi. A similar demarche was conveyed by the Ambassador of Pakistan, Mr. Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani, to the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
He said the move “was launched in light of the fact that Afghan nationals, including one apprehended alive, participated in this attack, proving once again that Afghan soil and Afghan nationals continue to be used to orchestrate terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.”
In May, Pakistan summoned the Afghan charge d’affaires and launched a “vigorous approach” following a vehicle bomb attack carried out by Fitna al-Khawarij attack on a police station in Bannu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which killed 15 police officers.
Terrorists had rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into the Fateh Khel police checkpoint, killing 15 personnel and injuring three others. The attack triggered a massive explosion that destroyed the checkpoint and left several staff members trapped under debris.
The move “revealed that a detailed investigation into the incident, as well as evidence and technical intelligence, indicated that the attack was orchestrated by terrorists residing in Afghanistan,” the Foreign Ministry had said.
He added, “Reiterating Pakistan’s grave concern over the continued use of Afghan soil for terrorist attacks against Pakistan, it was made clear to the Afghan side that Pakistan reserves the right to respond decisively against the perpetrators of this barbaric act.”
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Following the terrorist attack on the Karachi Rangers camp, as well as those in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Pakistani security forces were continuing Operation Ghazab Lil Haq.
The operation, launched towards the end of February, follows renewed clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, with Afghan Taliban forces firing at several sites, provoking swift military retaliation from Islamabad. The clashes intensified after Afghanistan launched a border offensive in response to Pakistani airstrikes targeting terrorist positions.
Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of harboring militants who launch attacks in Pakistan, although Kabul denies this, calling such militancy an internal problem in Islamabad.
The two sides agreed to a one-week ceasefire on the eve of Eidul Fitr on March 18, following demands from Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. In April, Pakistan presented three main demands to the Afghan Taliban during peace talks in Urumqi, China, including Kabul to officially declare the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) a terrorist organization, dismantle its infrastructure and provide verifiable evidence of its action.
These demands form the basis of Pakistan’s negotiating position, which sources say has hardened due to ongoing security concerns.
