Pakistan Army's ceremonial guards laying a wreath during the funeral ceremony of a paramilitary personnel of the Frontier Corps (FC) who was killed during the Afghanistan-Pakistan border clashes, in Kohat. — AFP
PESHAWAR: A suicide car bomber backed by the Pakistani Taliban attacked a compound of the security forces in Pakistan's northwest near the Afghan border on Friday, triggering an intense shootout that left at least six militants dead, police said.
The attack took place in Mir Ali, a city in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, local police official Irfan Ali said. The impact of the bombing damaged nearby homes, he said.
At least one soldier was killed while responding to the attack when militants armed with guns tried to enter the compound, according to Afzal Khan, another police official. There was no comment from the military.
The attack came just days after Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a ceasefirefollowing days of cross-border fighting that killed dozens and wounded hundreds on both sides. The ceasefire, which began Wednesday, has ended, and is likely to be extended, as "friendly countries” who brokered it are encouraging both sides to extend the truce.
Earlier, local media reported that Qatar has offered to host peace talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Doha, though neither government has confirmed the offer.
At a news briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan told reporters that he was not in a position to share any information about possible talks with Afghanistan, and that the ministry would issue a statement when any such talks happen. He said the ceasefire was still holding, and he refused to speculate whether the truce would be extended.
Ali said Islamabad wanted Kabul to keep anyone from using Afghan soil for attacks inside Pakistan and that Pakistan's recent strikes were only aimed at targeting militant hideouts.
He said Pakistan's "targeted and precise defensive response was not targeted towards the Afghan civilian population,” and that "unlike Afghan forces, we exercised extreme caution in our defensive responses to avoid loss of civilian lives.”
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks since January, mostly blamed on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. It has strained ties between Islamabad and Kabul as Pakistan says the group is being sheltered in Afghanistan.
Pakistan's military has carried out multiple operations against militants in the region this week, killing 88 militants, according to security officials and police in the region.
This week’s clashes between the two countrieswere the deadliest since 2021, when the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan following the collapse of the Western-backed government as United States and Nato forces withdrew after 20 years of war.
Tensions have remained high along the border since last week when Kabul accused Islamabad of carrying out a strike in the Afghan capital, a claim Pakistan’s government and military have not acknowledged. Pakistani security officials, however, said the strike was aimed at targeting Noor Wali, the head of the TTP.
The Pakistani Taliban shared a video Thursday claiming Wali is alive and in hiding somewhere in northwestern Pakistan.
The growing tension between the two sides is also expected to hit Afghan refugees illegally residing in the country.
On Friday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was informed that Pakistan had sent back 1.4 million Afghans under a phased plan that began in 2023, according to a government statement. It cited Sharif as saying that only Afghans with valid Pakistani visas would be allowed to stay in the country.
Millions of people have fled to Pakistan over the past four decades to escape war, political unrest and economic hardship. Those refugees who wanted to return home voluntarily have been stuck up in Pakistan because of the closure of the border crossings which was shut earlier this week following deadly clashes between the two sides. — AP
