Pakistan summons Afghan envoy, protests Taliban attacks

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan on Wednesday summoned a senior Afghan diplomat to lodge a protest over "continuing" terrorist attacks on Pakistani soil by the Taliban from their "bases inside" the war-hacked country, a foreign office spokesman said.

Foreign ministry spokesman Nafeez Zakaria said Pakistan had conveyed the Afghan envoy in Islamabad, Syed Abdul Nasir Yousafi, its "grave concern [...] about the continuing terrorist attacks on Pakistani soil by the terrorist outfit, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) from its sanctuaries inside Afghanistan."

At least 21 people including 3 army troops, have been killed in three separate suicide attacks -- two of them Wednesday -- in last two days in northeastern and northwestern Pakistan, which according to Pakistani intelligence officials, were carried out by the Taliban groups from bases in Afghanistan.

Kabul, however, denies the charge, and instead accuses Islamabad of providing safe havens to the powerful Haqqani network in its northwestern tribal belt.

"Attention of the deputy head of mission was also drawn to the earlier actionable intelligence shared by our authorities with the Afghan side. Afghanistan was urged to take urgent measures to eliminate the terrorists and their sanctuaries, financiers and handlers operating from its territory”, the spokesman added.

A series of terrorists attacks in both countries, for which the two sides blame each other, has put a further strain on already tense relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan in recent months.

Meanwhile, the Transit Trade Agreement -- which allows Afghanistan the right to import duty-free goods through Karachi -- on the northwestern Torkhum border -- one of the two main crossings -- has been suspended between the two countries following the suicide attacks in adjoining Peshawar and Mohmind agency tribal region Wednesday, local Geo TV reported.