Lately, the army has been battling terrorists in the tribal belt, especially the North and South Waziristan belt. A number of armymen were martyred as a result.
According to a report titled ‘Pakistan’s Afghan Perspective and Policy Options’, released by the think tank, Pak Institute of Peace Studies, the number of terrorist attacks in Pakistan saw a massive increase following the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban.
There was a 138pc surge in the number of people killed in the attacks in Pakistan from the period between August 2021 and April 2023.
Another think tank, Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), also released data which showed that the number of militant attacks had increased by 80 per cent in the first half of this year.
Pakistan has raised the issue of cross border terrorism with the Afghan authorities on a number of occasions, but nothing concrete has materialised.
Once again, the civil and military leadership have raised the matter, pointing out the repeated attacks by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Pakistani soil.
The Foreign Office has called on the Afghan authorities to fulfill their commitment that their soil would not be used against Pakistan.
Even the army expressed its concern at the frequent attacks by the terrorists from the other side of the border.
The military has been fighting against the terrorists on various fronts. It is engaging separatists in Balochistan and the TTP in the tribal areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The army lost a dozen soldiers in recent attacks in Zhob and Sui districts of Balochistan.
This figure was the highest single-day death toll from militant attacks suffered by the army.
The attacks prompted the army chief, Gen Asim Munir, to visit the Quetta Garrison where he received a briefing.
The media wing of the army, ISPR issued a statement calling on the Afghan authorities to take necessary action to prevent these frequent attacks being committed from their soil, which were not in line with the commitments made in the Doha Agreement.
The army pointed out the safe havens of the TTP in Afghanistan from where the group has been launching attacks with impunity.
The government also strongly reacted to the uptick in terrorist incidents, with Defence Minister Khawaja Asif admonishing Afghanistan for “neglecting its duties as a neighbouring and fraternal country”.
The minister made it clear that the ongoing situation could no longer persist and that Pakistan would employ all possible resources to safeguard its territory and citizens.
The Afghan Taliban, on the other hand, repeat the same rhetoric, saying they were committed to not allowing anyone to use their soil for attacks on Pakistan.
But since their takeover, what practical measures have they taken? What have they done to rein in the TTP?
Under such a situation, the Pak Army reserves the right to go after the terrorists and attack their safe havens if the need be.
The Afghsn Taliban should therefore take stringent steps to prevent TTP from launching attacks and dismantle their bases.
This is direly needed for good brotherly relations between the two countries.