ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Broadcasting Danyal Chaudhry said on Monday “national security is non-negotiable,” defending Islamabad’s recent cross-border strikes inside Afghanistan following a number of recent militant attacks.
The remarks come after Pakistan said it launched “intelligence-based selective targeting” of seven militant camps along the Afghan border in response to a mosque bombing in Islamabad and violence in the northwestern border districts of Bajaur and Bannu, among other attacks. Authorities say many of the assaults have been carried out by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and allied groups that Islamabad alleges are operating from sanctuaries in Afghanistan, whose government denies this.
Kabul has condemned Sunday’s strikes as a violation of its sovereignty and claimed civilians were killed. Pakistan has not responded to that allegation.
Tensions between the two neighbors have escalated sharply despite a fragile ceasefire agreed after deadly clashes in October.
“Pakistan has always chosen the path of dialogue and peaceful coexistence. But when Afghan soil continues to be used for proxy attacks, we have no choice but to defend our homeland. National security is non-negotiable,” Chaudhry said in a statement.
