Pakistan moves heavy artillery to Afghan border

Security has been heightened and according to reports, the Pakistan Army has moved heavy artillery including tanks on the border with Afghanistan. Pakistan closed its borders with Afghanistan following a deadly suicide bombing at the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar last week.

The move comes after the Pakistan Army pounded militant hideouts inside Afghanistan last week and killed militants belonging to Jamaat ul Ahrar. 

Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan, Syed Abrar Hussain was summoned by the Afghan Foreign Office on Friday over Pakistani military’s cross-border strikes targeting terrorists. Syed Abrar Hussain informed the officials at the Afghan Foreign Ministry that all of the recent attacks in Pakistan were found to have been coordinated by terrorists based in Afghanistan.

According to sources from the embassy, the Afghan Foreign Office claimed in the meeting that Pakistan was carrying out shelling across the Pak-Afghan border. The Afghan Foreign Office further claimed that some Afghan soldiers had also been killed in these strikes.

On February 17, officials from the Afghan Embassy were summoned to Pakistan's Army Headquarters, GHQ. The embassy officials were handed a list of 76 terrorists so action can be taken against them or they be handed over if the Afghan government cannot act against them.

Afg Embassy officials called in GHQ. Given list of 76 Ts hiding in Afg. Asked to take immediate action / be handed over to Pakistan.

— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) February 17, 2017

Director Geo News Rana Jawad said, “Afghanistan is dealing with several issues at home which make it difficult for them to initiate a crackdown against terrorists, but there are certain policy makers who tolerate these terrorists on the Afghan soil to later use them to destabilise Pakistan.”