Pakistan carried out intelligence-based anti-terrorist operations in the border regions inside Afghanistan on Monday morning, the Foreign Office said.

“The prime target of today’s operation was the terrorists belonging to Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, which along with Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is responsible for multiple terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, resulting in deaths of hundreds of civilians and law enforcement officials,” it said in a statement.

Seven Pakistani soldiers were martyred when terrorists attacked a security post in North Waziristan’s Mir Ali area on March 16.

Earlier in the day, there were reports that Pakistan bombed banned terrorist organisation’s hideouts in Paktika and Khost.

A report from Tolo News quoted Afghanistan’s interim Foreign Minister Zabihullah Mujahid as saying that some of the border regions were out of their control.

Over the past two years, the statement added that Pakistan has repeatedly conveyed its concerns to the interim Afghan government over the presence of terror outfits including banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan inside Afghanistan.

“These terrorists pose a grave threat to Pakistan’s security and have consistently used Afghan territory to launch terror attacks inside Pakistani territory.”

The FO stated that Pakistan accorded prime importance to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, adding that the country has always prioritised dialogue and cooperation to confront the terrorist threat.

“We have repeatedly urged the Afghan authorities to take concrete and effective action to ensure that the Afghan soil is not used as a staging ground for terrorism against Pakistan. We have also called on them to deny safe havens to TTP and to hand over its leadership to Pakistan.”

The Foreign Office reiterated that Pakistan has great respect for the people of Afghanistan, however, certain elements among “those in power” in Afghanistan were patronising TTP and using them as a proxy against Pakistan.

Such an approach against a brotherly country, which stood with the people of Afghanistan through thick and thin, manifested shortsightedness, it said.

“It ignores the support extended by Pakistan to the people of Afghanistan over the last several decades. We urge these elements in power to rethink the policy of siding with Khwarij terrorists shedding the blood of innocent Pakistanis and to make a clear choice to stand with the people of Pakistan.”

According to the FO, terrorist groups like outlawed TTP were a collective threat to regional peace and security.

“We fully realize the challenge Afghan authorities face in combating the threat posed by TTP. Pakistan would therefore continue to work towards finding joint solutions in countering terrorism and to prevent any terrorist organization from sabotaging bilateral relations with Afghanistan.”