Islamabad asks Kabul to handover TTP leader Hafiz Gul Bahadur

• Pakistan demands Afghanistan to take swift “verifiable actions”.
• Asks to prevent use of Afghan soil for terrorism against Pakistan.
• 2 martyred, 10 injured in Bannu attack by Afghan national. 

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office summoned the head of the Afghan diplomatic mission in Pakistan and demanded the extradition of Hafiz Gul Bahadur after a terrorist affiliated to his group carried out an attack in Bannu, The News reported Wednesday. 

Condemning the suicide attack on security forces by the Afghan national, Pakistan demanded the Afghan interim government take swift “verifiable actions” against all terrorist groups and their sanctuaries.

The Foreign Office asked the diplomat to arrest Hafiz Gul Bahadur and hand him over to Pakistan while also demanding to prevent the use of Afghan soil for terrorism against Pakistan.

The ministry, in its meeting with the representative, emphasised that Afghanistan should take immediate verifiable actions against all terrorist groups and their sanctuaries. 

On November 26, two civilians were martyred while 10, including three soldiers, sustained injuries when an Afghan suicide bomber attacked a security forces convoy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu District.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) shared that the unfortunate incident occurred on Sunday in the Bakka Khel area when a motorcycle-borne suicide bomber exploded himself.

The group behind the bombing was a faction of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

The summoning of the Afghan representative comes as Pakistan continues to deport illegal Afghan citizens from the country as Islamabad has blamed Kabul for the rising terrorism. 

Pakistan has been consistently pointing out the use of US-made weapons by terrorists involved in attacks in the country.

In September of this year, the Foreign Office had expressed concerns over the “advanced weapons” being used by the terrorists in Afghanistan to attack Pakistan and its security agencies.

“These modern weapons have fallen into the hands of terrorists in Afghanistan who are using these [weapons] to attack Pakistan and its security agencies,” said FO Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch. 

She said the situation needs international attention and called upon all stakeholders to assume the responsibility that they have in this regard.

Similarly, the failure of the Afghan Taliban to take action against the terrorists attacking Pakistan has led Islamabad to launch a drive for the expulsion of illegal aliens.

More than 300,000 people have returned to Afghanistan since Islamabad ordered 1.7 million Afghans it says living illegally in Pakistan to leave or face deportation.