‘Afghan military commander killed in Pakistan’

RAWALPINDI: An Afghan military commander was among 14 militants killed in an operation by Pakistani forces, security sources said on Monday.

Identified as Mujeebur Rehman, also known as Mansoor, he was eliminated during a February 28 operation in Ghulam Khan Kalay.

Mujeeb, son of Mirza Khan, hailed from Dandar village in Afghanistan’s Maidan Wardak province and served as a commander in the third battalion of Afghanistan’s National Military Academy, the sources revealed.

In a separate operation on January 30, security forces killed another Afghan militant, Badruddin, in Dera Ismail Khan. He was a lieutenant in the Afghan army and the son of the deputy governor of Bagdhis province.

The development came against the backdrop of increased terrorist incidents in Pakistan which Islamabad has time again urged Kabul to not allow its territory to be used by terrorist groups to carry out attacks against Pakistan. — something vehemently denied by the Afghan Taliban-led administration.

The two nations share a porous border spanning around 2,500 kilometres with several crossing points which hold significance as a key element of regional trade and relations between the people across both sides of the fence.

The diplomatic effort is coupled with ongoing kinetic action against terrorists by security forces who continue to engage in operations, eliminating a number of militants and thwarting multiple infiltration attempts.

However, the issue of terrorism remains a key issue for Pakistan which has urged Afghanistan to prevent its soil from being used by groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to carry out attacks inside the former’s territory.

Islamabad’s reservations have also been confirmed by a report submitted to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) by the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team which has revealed a nexus between Kabul and the TTP with the forming providing logistical, operational and financial support to the latter.