Pakistan rejects Afghan government remarks on cross-border incursions

Pakistan on Tuesday rejected as baseless remarks by Afghan Foreign Ministry that Pakistani troops have intruded into its territory and killed security personnel and civilians.
Afghan Foreign Ministry said Monday that Kabul is weighing up a response to Pakistani firing that killed three soldiers and eight civilians in eastern Kunar province this week.
The ministry's spokesman Ahmad Shakib Mustaghni told his weekly briefing in Kabul on Monday that the "Pakistani forces, in civilian dress carried out the attack" in Dangam district two days ago.
Pakistan angrily rejected as baseless Afghanistan's claim and said Pakistani forces have been attacked frequently from the Afghan side of the border.
"It is with deep disappointment that we have seen the allegations by senior Afghan officials regarding Pakistani troops in civilian dress conducting attacks in areas of Kunar Province. We reject these baseless allegations," the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said.
"The fact is that the Pakistan armed forces have been attacked repeatedly by terrorists operating from the Afghan territory. Our armed forces have acted only in self defence, with maximum restraint and responsibility," the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.
Commenting on Kabul's warning of a response, she said Islamabad expects the Afghan government to "refrain from taking any action that may be detrimental to peace and stability on the border."
Diplomatic tensions increased at a time when Islamabad seeks neighboring country's help to enhance border security to stop fleeing militants from entering the Afghan side of the border.
"Pakistan is engaged in a major effort to address the scourge of terrorism. We believe the unfounded allegations from the Afghan side not only vitiate the environment but also serve to undermine the efforts for constructive engagement between the two countries, " the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said in a statement.
"For our part, we will neither be deterred from addressing the challenges at hand, nor from building a friendly and cooperative relationship with the people of Afghanistan," she said.
The Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman described Pakistan's alleged incursion as a "blatant aggression against Afghanistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity" and warned of reprisal attacks.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sent his special envoy to Kabul last week who met Afghan President Hamid Karzai and sought cooperation to make the tribal region of North Waziristan's military push successful.
Karzai has decided to send his national security adviser, Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, for follow up discussions with the Pakistani leaders to put in place a road-map for the future cooperation.