Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Afghan Charge d’Affaires on May 11, 2026, to issue a formal demarche over the May 9 vehicle-borne IED attack on the Fateh Khel police post in Bannu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The attack, carried out by the militant group Fitna al-Khawarij (a TTP splinter), killed 15 police personnel and injured four others, including a civilian.
The Foreign Office said technical intelligence and field investigations showed that operatives masterminded the assault from Afghanistan.
FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi emphasised that the interim Taliban regime had failed to prevent the use of Afghan soil for terrorist activities.
He stated that Islamabad “reserved the right to respond decisively” and would not compromise on national security if safe havens persisted across the border.
Read: Bannu Checkpost Attack Kills Security Personnel
The demarche follows the launch of Pakistan’s Operation Ghazab lil-Haq in February 2026, a campaign targeting militant hideouts after a brief ceasefire in October 2025 collapsed.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, citing Afghanistan’s permissive environment for militants as a key obstacle to regional stability.
