| Elders of Zakhakhel Bazaar held a meeting with Afghan commanders at Torkham border crossing on Thursday, and assured them that strict action would be taken against people who attacked Afghan security forces. Around 17 Afghan security personnel were killed in the attack, allegedly to have been launched from inside Pakistan. A 16-member jirga went to the other side of the border and met the Afghan commanders, a jirga member told Daily Times. The jirga condemned the attack, and assured the Afghan commanders that it would not allow militants to establish their bases in its area or to launch attacks on Afghan security forces. The jirga told the Afghan commanders that it would take stern action against militants involved in any attacks, and that their villages would be set ablaze, adding that militants would also be fined Rs 0.5 million. The Afghan commanders told the jirga that terrorists should not be given “a free hand” to carry out attacks on Afghan security forces as it could incite them to retaliate. The Afghan commanders proposed that the people on both sides of the border should remain in touch so that terrorists could not spoil their brotherly relations. |