Pakistan calls on Taliban leaders to prevent terrorist attacks from Afghanistan after suicide attacks

Pakistan on Thursday demanded that the rulers of neighboring Afghanistan, the Taliban, prevent terrorist attacks emanating from their territory, a day after a suicide bombing in southwestern Pakistan caused a wave of shock and anger throughout the country.

The explosion killed four people and appears to have targeted police protecting polio workers in the area. Islamabad blamed the attack on Pakistani Taliban fighters hiding abroad in Afghanistan.

At a press conference, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan said the Pakistani Taliban’s latest statement highlights Afghanistan threat turned into a haven for militants, despite the fact that its Taliban rulers said they would prevent such attacks from their territory after they seized control of Afghanistan last year.

Khan said that if the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP’s claim that they were behind yesterday’s attack in Quetta city is true, “then this should be of concern to the Taliban.”

Authorities said the attack killed a policeman and three civilians when the terrorist blew himself up near a police truck. The explosion also injured 23 other people, drawing condemnation across the country.

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The attack in the main city of Pakistan’s Balochistan province came as police were on their way to polio workers as part of a nationwide vaccination campaign launched on Monday. The explosion was so strong that the police truck overturned into a ravine.

The latest violence came after the Pakistani Taliban ended a truce with Islamabad this week and vowed to immediately resume attacks across the country.

On Wednesday, the TTP said it launched the attack in Balochistan to avenge the killing of its former spokesman, Abdul Wali, known as Omar Khalid Khurasani. He died in a bomb blast in the Afghan province of Paktika in August.

Investigators gather evidence at the site of a suicide bombing on the outskirts of Quetta, Pakistan.  On September 30, 2022, a suicide bomber blew himself up near a truckload of police officers on their way to protect polio workers outside of Quetta.

Investigators gather evidence at the site of a suicide bombing on the outskirts of Quetta, Pakistan. On September 30, 2022, a suicide bomber blew himself up near a truckload of police officers on their way to protect polio workers outside of Quetta.
(AP Photo/Arshad Butt)

Enayatullah Khawarazmi, a defense ministry spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, denied Pakistan’s allegations. “We once again assure all the countries of the region and the world that the land of Afghanistan will never be used against other countries,” he said.

The Pakistani Taliban are a distinct group but are linked to the Afghan Taliban who rule their country from US and NATO troops withdrew last year. The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan has emboldened their Pakistani allies, whose top leaders and fighters are hiding in the neighboring country.

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Before the ceasefire, senior TTP commanders held several rounds of peace talks with Pakistani officials in Kabul after the Afghan Taliban urged both sides to do so. After a ceasefire in May, both sides accused the other of violating the terms until the TPP unilaterally ended it this week.

Since then, the Pakistani Taliban have stepped up attacks on security forces in former tribal areas bordering Afghanistan and elsewhere in the country.

Pakistani Deputy Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khan visited Kabul this week, where she discussed a number of issues with Afghan officials, including the presence of the TTP in Afghanistan.

Interior Minister Khan said about 5,000 TTP fighters are hiding in Afghanistan along with their families.

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Meanwhile, the TTP on Thursday said in a brief statement that it targeted a security convoy near a military school in South Waziristan, a border area that served as a base for the Taliban for years until the Pakistani military killed or arrested most insurgents in a series of operations.

There was no confirmation from the military of Thursday’s attack in South Waziristan.