Captain among three soldiers killed in cross-border attack

KHAR: Three security personnel, including an army captain, were killed in an attack by Afghanistan-based Pakistani Taliban militants in Mamond tehsil in Bajaur Agency, official and tribal sources said on Saturday.

Sources said heavily armed militants operating from the Kunar province of Afghanistan stormed the checkpost of the security forces in Ghakhi Pass near the Pak-Afghan border.

Three soldiers were killed while two persons, including a civilian, suffered injuries in the attack.

The injured were taken to the Agency Headquarters Hospital in Khar, the administrative headquarters of Bajaur Agency, from where they were referred to a military hospital in Peshawar due to their critical condition.

The political administration and the security forces arrested 60 suspects during a search operation in the area after the attack. Such arrests are mostly made under the collective responsibility clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) against the tribesmen living in the area where the attack has taken place.

The security forces also defused two remote controlled bombs during the search.

The militants affiliated with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operating from Kunar often attack border areas in Bajaur. However, it was the first major attack after the Pakistani forces launched a major operation against the militants in North Waziristan on June 15.

The TTP Bajaur Agency chapter claimed responsibility for the night-time attack. It spokesperson, who uses the same name, Shahidullah Shahid, as the central spokesman of the TTP, made a phone call to reporters in Khar and Peshawar using the SIM of Afghanistan’s mobile phone service, to claim responsibility for the attack. He said their men operating in the border area blew up the vehicle of the security forces supplying troops in Gakhi Pass and killed all seven soldiers on board. He claimed the Taliban fighters also seized weapons and other equipment and brought these to their bases.

Meanwhile, Yousaf Raza Mujahid, claiming to be the head of the obscure Taliban al-Qaeda group in Bajaur and Mohmand agencies, appealed to the Pakistani government and the “mujahideen” to announce a ceasefire keeping in view the prevailing security situation in the country.

In a phone call from an undisclosed location to reporters, he said the enemies of the country were benefiting from the rift between the Taliban and the government.

He urged the leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to play their role in steering the country out of the prevailing crises and strengthening democracy.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan strongly condemned the terrorist attack. The governor expressed deep shock and sorrow over the loss of precious lives of security personnel.

The governor said that the immortal sacrifices of the officers and jawans of the security forces, FC and Pakistan Army for the security of the country will never go in vain and will always be remembered with great pride.

NNI adds from Islamabad: Pakistan lodged a formal protest with Afghanistan over the cross-border attack.

“Pakistan strongly condemns the terrorist attack on a Bajaur Scouts vehicle at Gakhi Pass in Bajaur Agency launched from across the border in Afghanistan. An officer and two soldiers embraced Shahadat in the attack, while two soldiers were critically injured,” the Foreign Office said.

It said a strong protest had been lodged with the Afghan side in Islamabad and Kabul. “It has been reiterated that Afghanistan should eliminate terrorist sanctuaries and not allow its territory to be used against Pakistan,” said the FO statement.

It said at a time when a “monumental effort” was underway through a major offensive to eliminate all terrorists and their hideouts in North Waziristan tribal region, Afghanistan’s cooperation remained essential for the success of Pakistan’s counter-terrorism endeavours.

INP adds: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif condemned the cross-border terrorist attack on a Pakistani checkpost in Bajaur Agency in which three soldiers, including a captain, embraced martyrdom.

In a statement, the prime minister said the security forces were fighting the war against terrorism to protect the future of the country and laying down their lives for the purpose.

The prime minister said the nation will always remember the sacrifices of the armed forces for the country. He said such attacks could not deter the resolve of the government to eliminate terrorism.

Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif also condemned the attack on security forces in Bajaur.

They prayed that Almighty Allah rest the departed souls in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved families to bear the loss with equanimity.