Pakistan plans to target militants in Afghanistan as attacks surge

Pakistan plans to target the Afghan hideouts of militants allegedly behind a recent surge in deadly cross-border violence, officials said on Wednesday.

“We will take the war to the doorsteps of those who are behind violence in Pakistan,” an intelligence official told dpa after a marathon security meeting on Tuesday.

The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was held against the backdrop of a sharp uptick in attacks by members of the Pakistani Taliban, allegedly from their safe heavens in Afghanistan.

The group was weakened by the Pakistani military in a series of offensives starting in 2014. They have been seeking a comeback since their counterparts took over Afghanistan three years ago.

“We will use drones, fighter jets and whatever other resources we have at our disposal,” another official said, also on condition of anonymity.

Pakistan has launched occasional airstrikes inside Afghanistan to bomb the alleged hideouts of the militants, a move that has strained relations between Islamabad and Kabul.

Pakistan Defence Minister Khwaja Asif said Islamabad had asked the Taliban rulers of Afghanistan to take action against the Pakistani militants, but they never complied.

Pakistan also intends to target in Afghanistan the fighters of a separatist group that was behind a recent hijacking of a train in the south-western province of Balochistan in which around 30 passengers and soldiers were killed, both the officials said.