Pakistan issued a demarche to the Taliban regime over the use of Afghan soil for a terrorist attack on security forces in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur that martyred 11 soldiers, it emerged on Thursday.
According to a press release by the Foreign Office (FO), the demarche was issued on Wednesday afternoon when the FO summoned the Afghan deputy head of mission.
“Pakistan condemned in the strongest possible terms the vehicle-borne suicide terrorist attack followed by a fire raid on Pakistan military and law enforcement agencies’ posts in Bajaur, carried out by Fitna al Khawarij [or] the TTP,” the statement said.
Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The FO expressed concern that the group, whose entire leadership is based in Afghanistan, “operates with impunity from Afghan soil”.
It re-emphasised that Pakistan had received repeated assurances from the Afghan Taliban regime, “but, regrettably, with no visible or concrete actions”.
“The Afghan Taliban regime has been told to take immediate, concrete and verifiable measures against all terror groups operating from its territory, including their leadership,” the press release said.
The ministry also “categorically informed” the Afghan Taliban that Pakistan “reserved the right to respond and eliminate any khawarij belonging to the group as well as their affiliates”, wherever they were located, “to ensure [the] safety of its soldiers, civilians and territorial boundaries”.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a terror attack involving an explosive-laden vehicle on a checkpost in Bajaur martyred 11 security personnel on Monday.
The statement added that 12 terrorists were eliminated after security forces retaliated and “engaged the fleeing khawarij with precision”.
President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the terrorist attack and extended condolences to the families of martyrs.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also expressed sorrow at the loss of lives and condemned the attack in the “strongest terms”.
KP has seen a rise in terrorist attacks in the past year. According to the Annual Security Report 2025 from the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), KP recorded a significant surge in violence last year as “fatalities rose from 1,620 in 2024 to 2,331 in 2025”.
This marked an “absolute increase of 711 deaths, accounting for over 82 per cent of the net national rise and marking almost a 44pc year-on-year surge in violence in the province”.
