BANNU: The Prime Minister told visiting Afghan authorities that they must “choose between Pakistan and the terrorists,” asserting that Afghan nationals have been involved in cross-border attacks inside Pakistan and urging immediate action to stop militants using Afghan soil as a sanctuary.
The Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir visited Bannu, where they attended funeral prayers for 12 soldiers killed during a recent operation in South Waziristan and held a high-level meeting on counter-terrorism.
The visit underlined the government’s determination to respond firmly to militant attacks and to support security forces and affected families.
In this regard, the prime minister and the army chief also visited the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) in Bannu to meet wounded personnel, inquiring after their condition and directing authorities to ensure the best possible medical care.
So far, a senior security meeting chaired by the prime minister and attended by theatre commanders, the Peshawar Corps Commander provided a detailed briefing on the local security situation and recent operational developments.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sharif warned that Pakistan’s response to terrorism would continue with full force and without ambiguity.
He told visiting Afghan authorities that they must “choose between Pakistan and the terrorists,” asserting that Afghan nationals have been involved in cross-border attacks inside Pakistan and urging immediate action to stop militants using Afghan soil as a sanctuary.
The government also called for the expedited repatriation of Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan illegally.
Furthermore, the security officials reiterated allegations that militant commanders and facilitators operating against Pakistan are based in Afghanistan and claimed these groups have received external support, an assertion that has been repeatedly raised by Islamabad in recent months.
Prime Minister Sharif said political diversionary narratives about terrorism would be rejected and promised that anyone accused of abetting foreign proxies would be held to account.
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The prime minister concluded by reaffirming national unity: he said the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the state, and the armed forces stood “firm and united” against proxy warfare and vowed to take whatever administrative and legal measures are necessary to deliver an effective response to terrorism.
