ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday urged the Afghan Taliban regime to rein in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from launching cross-border attacks into the country, saying the group “have been emboldened to declare a war against Pakistan.”

The foreign minister’s remarks come in the wake of rising tensions between Islamabad and Kabul owing to the recent Chaman-Spin Boldak border clashes between the two countries, which Pakistan says have claimed multiple civilian casualties and injured several people.

Afghanistan and Pakistan have both traded blame over the border clashes. On Friday, Pakistan summoned Afghanistan’s Chargé d’Affaires to issue a “strong condemnation” over the border clashes.

At an event held to commemorate the eighth anniversary of the Army Public School (APS) massacre at the UN Headquarters, Pakistan’s foreign minister said the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was listed as a ‘terrorist’ organization by the UN Security Council and many other member states.

He hoped the Afghan government would honor the Doha Agreement and subsequent policy declarations by preventing the TTP would launching cross-border attacks into Pakistan.

“However, endeavors toward this end appear to have failed,” the minister lamented. “The TTP seems to have been emboldened to declare a war against Pakistan. Its attacks have intensified.”

He said Islamabad would not tolerate “cross-border terrorism” and reserves the right to take action against all such groups.

“Pakistan will not tolerate such cross-border terrorism by the TTP or other terrorist groups, like the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which are also receiving financial and other support from hostile quarters,” he said, without naming any country in particular.

“We reserve the right to take direct action against them,” he added.

Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, clashes have taken place between its security forces and those of Pakistan, while militants have attacked Pakistani forces.

Earlier this month, Pakistan’s Embassy in Kabul came under gunfire in an attack that was later claimed by the Daesh group. Pakistani officials at the time had called the incident an attack on its envoy there.

Islamabad has also said Afghanistan’s rulers are sheltering militants who carry out deadly attacks on its soil.