Pakistan summons Taliban envoy after attack on Bannu base

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Taliban’s deputy head of mission and urged the latter’s administration to take action against Afghanistan-based militant groups that Islamabad says attacked a military base this week.

Militants attacked the base in Bannu on Monday, ramming a vehicle loaded with explosives into the perimeter wall and killing eight security force members.

The attack was claimed by the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, which Pakistan’s military said operates out of neighbouring Afghanistan.

Islamabad says it has consistently taken up the issue of rising cross-border attacks with the Taliban administration, raising tensions between the neighbours whose security forces have clashed at the border in recent years.

The Taliban, whose spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has previously denied allowing the use of Afghan territory by militants.

“Pakistan reiterated its serious concerns over the presence of terror outfits inside Afghanistan that continue to threaten Pakistan’s security,” Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement.

It urged Taliban authorities 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.”