Pakistan claims to kill 70 terrorists in strikes on Afghanistan
Islamabad (PTI): Pakistan on Sunday claimed to kill 70 terrorists in the military strikes targeting at least seven militant hideouts in Afghanistan in retaliation for the recent rebel attacks in the country.
"Afghanistan has long been exporting terrorism. Pakistan is taking all actions to secure the life and property of its citizens," Pakistan State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry said while speaking on Geo News' programme.
Earlier, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting confirmed the strikes in retaliation to the recent suicide bombings in Islamabad, Bajaur and Bannu, even as Kabul warned of a “necessary and measured response” to the strikes.
In the latest terrorist incident, an army lieutenant colonel and a soldier were killed in a suicide attack in the Bannu area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Saturday.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Pakistan has conclusive evidence that these acts of terrorism, including at a Shiite mosque in Islamabad, one each in Bajaur and Bannu, followed by another incident in Bannu on Saturday, were allegedly perpetrated by Khwarij on the behest of their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers.
“Responsibilities for these attacks were also claimed by Afghanistan-based Pakistani Taliban belonging to Fitna-al-Khwarij (FAK) and their affiliates, and Islamic State of Khorsan Province (ISKP),” the ministry said.
Fitna-al-Khawarij is a term that the state uses for the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
It said that despite repeated efforts by Pakistan to urge the Afghan Taliban regime to take verifiable measures to prevent the use of Afghan territory by terrorist groups and foreign proxies to carry out terrorist activities in Pakistan, it “failed” to undertake any substantive action against them.
“In this backdrop, Pakistan, in a retributive response, has carried out intelligence-based selective targeting of seven terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to Pakistani Taliban of FAK and its affiliates and ISKP at the border region of Pakistan-Afghan border with precision and accuracy,” it said.
Chaudhry said that most of the 70 terrorists killed were Pakistani nationals. "There is ample evidence suggesting that most of the slain terrorists were Pakistanis," he said.
He emphasised that during the 2020 Doha accords, the Afghan Taliban had promised the world that they would not allow their soil to be used for terrorism, but the Kabul interim government had failed to live up to their promise to stop terrorism.
Pakistan on Sunday said that it expects and reiterates that the interim Afghan government fulfil its obligations.
Pakistan also expects the international community to play a positive and constructive role by urging the Taliban regime to stand by its commitments as part of the Doha Agreement to deny use of its soil against other countries; an act vital for regional and global peace and security, the ministry stated.
It further said that Pakistan has always strived to maintain peace and stability in the region, but at the same time, the “safety and security of our citizens remains our top priority”.
Following the attacks, the Taliban Foreign Ministry summoned Pakistan's ambassador to Kabul, Ubaid ur Rehman Nizamani, and handed him a protest note over the attacks, according to sources.
Afghanistan, in a statement, warned that the Pakistani strikes on the provinces of Paktika and Nangarhar will be met with a “necessary and measured response”.
“Our borders and the security of our people is our sacred religious and national duty,” Afghanistan’s Defence Ministry said, adding that “at the appropriate time, a necessary and measured response will be delivered to these aggressions”.
It termed the strikes as a “clear violation” of Afghanistan’s national sovereignty, international law, principles of good neighbourliness, and Islamic values, adding that the attacks targeted civilian and religious centres, calling them “clear evidence” of intelligence and security failures within Pakistan.
The statement said that Afghanistan will not remain silent in the face of continued cross-border violations and reaffirmed the country’s right to defend its territorial integrity.
Relations between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban have deteriorated due to the alleged failure of Kabul to stop terrorists from using its soil to attack Pakistan.
Last year in October, the two sides were briefly engaged in an armed conflict in which 23 Pakistan soldiers and over 200 Afghan Taliban soldiers were killed, according to the Pakistan army.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Kerala court sentences 20-year-old man in minor girl rape case
Kollam (Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court has sentenced a 20-year-old man to 21 years of imprisonment for raping a minor girl after befriending her on a social media app.
Karunagappally Fast Track Special Court judge Rajeevan Vachal sentenced the convict to 21 years under the relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, special public prosecutor (SPP) N C Premchandran said.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.1 lakh on the convict, the prosecutor said.
The incident occurred in 2024 when the accused befriended her on a social media app and then offered to take her to the Azheekal beach here.
However, instead of taking her to the beach, he took her to an isolated place behind the CHC hospital at Mynagappally here and raped her, the SPP said.
Following the incident, the girl attempted suicide, but was saved and then told the doctors what had happened, the prosecutor said.
The hospital authorities informed the police, who registered a case and launched an investigation.
The prosecutor said that seven witnesses were examined and 20 documents were submitted before the court to substantiate the guilt of the accused.
