Pakistan Summons Taliban Envoy After Suicide Bomb Attack On Military Base

PIXABAY ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - Pakistan's foreign ministry summoned the deputy head of the Taliba mission and urged the Taliban government to take action against Afghan-based militant groups that Islamabad says attacked military bases.

Militants attacked a base in Bannu in northwest Pakistan on Monday, July 15 by crashing an explosive vehicle into a barrier wall and killing eight members of Pakistan's security forces.

The attack was claimed by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, which Pakistan's military says operates in neighboring Afghanistan.

Islamabad said it was consistently discussing the issue of increasing cross-border attacks with the Taliban government, thereby increasing tensions between neighboring countries whose security forces clashed at the border in recent years.

The Taliban, whose spokesmen have not responded to requests for comment, have previously denied allowing militants to use Afghan territory.

"Pakistan reiterated its serious concern over the presence of terror groups in Afghanistan that continue to threaten Pakistan's security," Pakistan's foreign office said in a statement.

They urged Taliban authorities to fully investigate and take immediate, decisive and effective action against the perpetrators of the Bannu attack and prevent a similar recurrence of attacks.

Pakistan has carried out intelligence-based operations in Afghanistan to target militant groups, which the Taliban said included airstrikes in March.