'Will not tolerate ...': Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif's warning to Afghanistan over cross-border terrorism

Recent tensions

Surge in terror incidents

NEW DELHI: Following recent skirmishes on the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier, prime minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday warned that his government would not tolerate any cross-border terrorism .Addressing the first meeting of the apex committee since the new government came to power, Shehbaz said: "We will not tolerate any kind of terrorism from across the border.Under no circumstances.""We cannot tolerate this terrorism anymore. Pakistan’s borders are a red line against terrorism," he added.“We want to exist in a very peaceful environment with our neighbouring brothers — do trade, commerce and expand our relations — but unfortunately, if a neighbour’s land is used for terrorism, this is intolerable” said Shehbaz.In the early hours of Monday, Pakistan launched airstrikes in Afganistan’s Khost and Paktika provinces as part of its "intelligence-based anti-terrorist operations ".According to the Taliban administration, the airstrikes killed eight people, including children.The Pakistan foreign office said the airstrikes were aimed at the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, which recently targeted security forces in North Waziristan, killing seven soldiers.The Taliban quickly retaliated, using heavy weapons, including mortars, to target Pakistani troops across the border in Kurram and North Waziristan.Earlier this year, Pakistan conducted retaliatory strikes in Iran after the latter launched attacks in Pakistan targeting what it described as bases for the militant group Jaish al-Adl in the border town of Balochistan ’s Panjgur.Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities, especially in KP and Balochistan after the banned militant group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022, and the Taliban retook control of Kabul in 2021.According to the South Asian Terrorism Portal, Pakistan witnessed 527 terror incidents last year, the highest since 2015. Nearly 400 civilians and over 500 security personnel were killed in 2023.KP and Balochistan were the primary centres of violence, accounting for over 90% of all fatalities and 84% of attacks, including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations.(With inputs from agencies)

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