FO issues strong demarche to Afghan diplomat over Rangers facility attack

Foreign Office of Pakistan on Monday summoned Afghanistan’s chargé d’affaires and lodged a strong protest over the recent terrorist attack on a Rangers facility in Karachi.

Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said that the Afghan envoy was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and handed a formal demarche over the incident. He said Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Ubaidur Rehman Nizamani, also delivered a similar message to the Afghan foreign ministry.

Andrabi said that the protest was based on evidence that Afghan nationals were involved in the attack, including one suspect who was arrested alive. He said the incident once again showed that Afghan soil and Afghan nationals were being used to plan and carry out attacks inside Pakistan.

The attack took place on Saturday night when militants targeted the local headquarters of Pakistan Rangers in Gulistan-i-Jauhar. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), three security personnel were martyred and four others injured in the assault.

The military’s media wing said the attackers belonged to Jamaatul Ahrar and claimed the group was acting as an Indian proxy. It added that three militants were killed during the response, while one Afghan national was arrested.