ISLAMABAD: Pakistan summoned Afghanistan’s deputy head of mission on Friday and demanded “decisive action” against banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants after four Pakistani soldiers were killed in an attack on a military camp in the country’s northwest, the foreign office said.

According to the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the attack took place in North Waziristan district bordering Afghanistan when militants attempted to breach the camp’s perimeter but were repelled by troops, before ramming an explosives-laden vehicle into the outer wall.

The blast caused the wall to collapse and damaged nearby civilian infrastructure, including a mosque, it added.

ISPR said all four attackers were engaged by troops and killed, but four soldiers also lost their lives in the exchange, while 15 local residents, including women and children, were injured.

Officials in Islamabad have repeatedly accused Afghanistan of sheltering and facilitating TTP militants, who Pakistan says are backed by India, and whom it refers to as “khwarij,” a term from early Islamic history used to describe an extremist sect that rebelled against authority. Officials in Kabul and New Delhi deny the allegations.

“Pakistan condemns, in the strongest possible terms, today’s terrorist attack carried out by Khwarij belonging to Kharji Gul Bahadur Group on a Pakistan Military camp in North Waziristan District, which resulted in the martyrdom of four Pakistani soldiers,” the foreign office said in a statement. “To convey our strong demarche, the Afghan Deputy Head of Mission was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

It said the ministry expressed concern over the “continued support and facilitation” provided by Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities to the TTP, an umbrella network of armed factions, which it said had emboldened militants to carry out attacks against Pakistani civilians and security forces.

“Pakistan has demanded a full investigation and decisive action against the perpetrators and facilitators of the terrorist attacks launched against Pakistan from Afghan soil,” the statement added. “The Afghan Taliban regime has been urged to take immediate, concrete and verifiable measures against all terror groups operating from its territory, including their leadership, and deny the continued use of Afghan soil for terrorism against Pakistan.”

The foreign office said the Afghan government had been informed that Pakistan “reserves the right to defend its sovereignty and protect its citizens” and would take all necessary measures to respond to attacks originating from Afghan territory.

Pakistan has faced a surge in militant violence along its western border since the Taliban authorities retook control in Kabul in 2021.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated in recent months, with the two sides witnessing deadly border clashes in October that killed dozens of people. While Qatar later mediated an uneasy truce and talks were held in Istanbul, negotiations failed to reach an agreement on how to address militancy.

The foreign office reiterated in its statement militants continued to enjoy a “permissive environment” in Afghanistan, adding that Kabul was not fulfilling its international commitments by allowing its territory to be used for attacks on a neighboring country.