Pakistan serves strong demarche to Afghanistan over militant attack

ISLAMABAD, July 17 (KUNA) -- Pakistan on Wednesday served a strong demarche to Afghanistan over the recent attack on Bannu Cantonment in Pakistanآ’s northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, said Foreign Office.
The Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deliver Pakistanآ’s strong demarche over the deadly attack on Bannu Cantonment, according to press release by Pakistan Foreign Office.
The attack, which resulted in the killing of eight security personnel and injured several others, was carried out by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group based in Afghanistan, according to the release.
"Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, along with Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of civilians and law enforcement officials in multiple terrorist attacks inside Pakistan," it added.
The Interim Afghan Government was urged to fully investigate and take immediate, robust and effective action against the perpetrators of the Bannu attack and to prevent the recurrence of such attacks against Pakistan using the territory of Afghanistan, it said.
Pakistan reiterated its serious concerns over the presence of terror outfits inside Afghanistan that continue to threaten Pakistanآ’s security, it said, adding that such incidents also go against the spirit of bilateral relations between the two brotherly countries.
The Pakistani reaction comes a day after a suicide attack killed eight soldiers of Pakistan army while a retaliatory operation killed 10 militants in Bannu Cantonment area in KPK. (end) sbk.mt