ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is thinking about a strong reaction to today’s terrorist attack in Dera Ismail Khan, which killed twenty soldiers and was the deadliest attack on security forces in years.
Pakistan is expected to take “drastic and decisive” action against the terrorist group that planned the attack if official sources are to be believed.
A source close to the situation told The Express Tribune on Tuesday, “Pakistan will not let the perpetrators of this heinous attack go free.”
Earlier in the day, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that six terrorists attacked a security checkpoint in the Daraban general area early Tuesday morning.
According to the military’s media wing, the terrorists had to ram an explosives-filled vehicle into the post and then carry out a suicide bombing attack because they were unable to get in.
“The resulting explosions caused the building to fall, killing several people; 23 brave soldiers embraced shahadat; and all six terrorists were effectively engaged and sent to hell,” the ISPR said.
The DI Khan attack was claimed by Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), a group that only came on the scene in February of this year.
Some people think that the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) might be connected to the TJP, which is using an unknown group to avoid possible consequences.
Even though Pakistan told the Afghan Taliban last month to stop hiding terrorists in safe places, the attack in DI Khan still happened.
After the Bannu attack, the Afghan government was told that if there was another terrorist attack with ties to the neighboring country, Pakistan would respond strongly.
Some sources say that Pakistan is open to cross-border strikes and drone attacks on terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan as ways to get revenge for the killing of DI Khan. However, Pakistan has not said anything about these plans.
Pakistan sees the most recent attack as a major provocation and will make sure the people responsible are punished. Pakistan has told the Afghan government many times that it needs to do something about the TTP and its allies.
A few hours after the attack, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary called in the Chargé d’Affaires (Cd’A) of the Afghan Interim Government (AIG) to give his strong message.
“The attack, whose responsibility has been claimed by Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan, a terrorist group affiliated with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), resulted in multiple causalities, including shahadat of twenty-three security personnel,” as stated by the Foreign Office.
The Cd’A of AIG was told to tell the Afghan interim government right away to fully investigate the recent attack and take harsh action against those responsible, and to publicly condemn the terrorist incident at the highest level. They were also told to take immediate, verifiable actions against all terrorist groups (including their leadership) and their safe havens, capture the attack suspects and hand them over to the government of Pakistan, and take other steps as needed.
The terrorist attack today is yet another reminder of how dangerous terrorists are to peace and security in the area. We need to work together with all our strength to stop this threat. In its own right, Pakistan is still fully committed to fighting terrorists, the statement added.