Islamabad lodges protest over cross-border attacks

ISLAMABAD (PAN’s foreign ministry on Monday said the deputy head of Afghan mission in Islamabad was called to the Foreign Office and a strong protest was lodged on “the intrusion of militants from the Afghan side into Pakistani territory.”

The Afghan diplomat was informed that “the government of Afghanistan should take appropriate measures to prevent recurrence of similar incidents in future,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

The Pakistani prime minister on Monday also condemned the attacks and said he would discuss the matter with President Hamid Karzai.

“Pakistan has strongly protested with Afghanistan on the cross-border attacks and I will also take up this issue with Karzai,” Raja Pervez Ashraf told reporters in Karachi.

Fazlullah Wahidi, governor of Kumar province, said militants were based in Pakistan, not Afghanistan. “We don’t have any information about militants crossing the border from Afghanistan to attack troops in Pakistan,” he said.

The NATO said it was aware of the report, but had no information.

The Foreign Office said about 100 militants from across the border entered Dir district and clashed with a Pakistani security forces patrolling party.

In the exchange of fire, 11 militants were killed while six security forces personnel lost their lives, with another 11 soldiers missing.

The military had already reported that six soldiers were killed in gunbattles with militants Sunday who crossed from Afghanistan into the northwestern district of Upper Dir.

Pr/ma

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