Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of air attacks; Islamabad warns of action against militants

 Afghanistan's Taliban government accused Pakistan on Friday of carrying out airstrikes on its territory and warned of "consequences" as Islamabad said it was taking action against militants.

Eleven more Pakistani soldiers were killed on Friday in a clash with militants in the Tirah area close to the Afghan border, according to Pakistani security officials. Islamabad says militants of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan group operate from Afghanistan, a charge denied by Kabul.

The Taliban administration blamed Pakistan for airstrikes in Kabul, the capital, late on Thursday and in the eastern province of Paktika around midnight.

"This is an unprecedented, violent and provocative act in the history of Afghanistan and Pakistan," an Afghan Defence Ministry statement said. "If the situation escalates further following these actions, the consequences will be the responsibility of the Pakistani military."

According to the Taliban, there were no casualties from the airstrikes.

A Pakistani security official said a vehicle used by the leader of the TTP, Noor Wali Mehsud, was targeted in the Kabul airstrike. It was unclear if he survived.

The Afghan Defence Ministry declined to answer queries about Mehsud, pointing to its statement, which did not mention him.

 PAKISTAN VOWS TO DO WHATEVER IS NECESSARY

 Islamabad has said its patience with Kabul is running out, without acknowledging or denying carrying out the airstrikes.

Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the Pakistani military spokesman, "noted" the reports of the strikes.

"To protect the lives of the people of Pakistan, we are doing, and will continue to do, whatever is necessary," Chaudhry told a press conference. "Our demand to Afghanistan: Your soil must not be used for terrorism against Pakistan."

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government should work on protecting the people of the province instead of begging Afghanistan for security,” Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Friday.

During a more than two hours’ press conference, he was also asked about media reports alleging a strike was carried out (by Pakistan) in Kabul last night to eliminate TTP leader Noor Wali Mehsud. Responding, he said that Pakistan would take every step to protect its people from terrorists.

"The Pakistan Army has taken note of the reports circulating on social media and the statement issued by the Taliban spokesperson. Afghanistan is a neighbourly, Islamic country. We have historical connections, cultural connections. Pakistan has hosted Afghan refugees for four decades. We only say one thing to the Afghan government: do not allow your soil to be used for terrorism against Pakistan,” he added.

The ISPR chief said that trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan was also continuing, and many Afghans came to Pakistan for medical reasons.

"So we only have an extremely fair demand: don’t let your soil be used by non-state actors and terrorist groups. Is it wrong to ask? It is absolutely fair, it is correct, it is rational, it is our right. And for this, we also engage them at multiple levels,” he said, stressing on several bilateral and multilateral engagements.

Gen Chaudhry said that Pakistan engages Afghanistan and "we clearly communicate [to them that these are the [terrorist] leaders, their facilitators and their centres [in Afghanistan]. Yes, we engage [with Afghanistan], but at the same time, we are doing and will continue to do whatever is necessary to protect the lives of Pakistan’s people and its territorial integrity.”

To another question, the ISPR chief said that he has made it clear that Afghanistan is being used as a base of operations for carrying out terrorism in Pakistan. There is also evidence of this. And I have also said that all the necessary steps for protecting the people’s lives and property are being taken and will continue to be taken.

He said that governance gaps in KP were being paid for by the blood of security personnel. "Appeasement of terrorists and their facilitators is never and not a policy,” he said, adding that the state and its institutions would not be bothered by "any political distortions.”