ISLAMABAD/KABUL, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday that the country's security forces conducted anti-terror operations in border areas with Afghanistan to protect its people from terror groups, including the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The spokesperson for Pakistan's foreign office Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, on the strikes, said that the operations were carefully planned and based on authentic and concrete intelligence.
Reiterating Pakistan's respect for Afghanistan's sovereignty, Baloch highlighted the country's preference for dialogue and cooperation to address the persistent terror threats, hoping that Afghanistan would take measures to prevent the use of its territory for terror attacks against Pakistan.
The spokesman of the Afghan caretaker government Zabihullah Mujahid said Wednesday that Pakistan bombarded four locations in Barmal district of Paktika province on Tuesday night, resulting in 46 deaths, most of whom were women and children.
Hamdullah Fitrat, the Afghan government's deputy spokesperson, later confirmed to Xinhua that at least 51 people were killed in the airstrikes.
The Afghan caretaker government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Wednesday summoned the charge d'affaires of the Pakistani embassy in Afghanistan over the attack.
Afghan foreign ministry strongly condemned the attack in a statement, saying protecting Afghanistan's national sovereignty is a red line for the country and such actions are highly irresponsible. ■
