Pakistan pushes Taliban to 'fully' probe deadly attack on its troops
Pakistan says the TTP terrorists use safe havens in Afghanistan to train for and carry out attacks such as the one this week, although Kabul denies the charge.
A Pakistani Taliban group claimed Tuesday's military base camp attack. / Photo: AA Archive
Pakistan has protested to Afghanistan's Taliban government over the killing of 23 soldiers in an attack on a military base, demanding action against the perpetrators, Islamabad said as it grapples with security challenges ahead of elections next year.
Tuesday's gun and bomb attack claimed by a Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan-linked group comes amid concerns voiced by political analysts about general elections set for February 8, amid a surge in such attacks in the nation of 241 million.
Pakistan's foreign office summoned Kabul's envoy over the attack, it said in a statement on Tuesday, asking for the Taliban administration to "fully investigate and take stern action against the perpetrators of the recent attack."
It also sought a public condemnation of the incident, which led to the heaviest death toll in a single attack in years.
"If they ask for investigation, if they share the details with us, we will do the investigation," the Taliban's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in response to the demand, though he said the incident had nothing to do with Afghanistan.
Ties between Islamabad and Kabul have plunged in recent months to their lowest in years.
In October, Pakistan ordered the expulsion of all Afghan nationals staying in the country without legal documents, holding them responsible for 14 of this year's 24 suicide bombings.
Pakistan says the terrorists use safe havens in Afghanistan to train for and carry out attacks such as the one this week, although Kabul denies the charge, saying that Pakistani security is a domestic issue.
A Pakistani Taliban group, the Tehrik-i-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), which has emerged recently to claim several big bombings, claimed the military base camp attack.
The foreign office said the group was affiliated with the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which consists of various sectarian outfits that have waged a war against the state for years.
TTP is an internationally recognised terrorist organisation that operates in the region.
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