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.
