The head of the Pakistani Army has threatened the Taliban-led government in Kabul with an "effective response" if it continues harboring militants who launch attacks in Pakistan.
Pakistan has "serious concerns on the safe havens and liberty of action available to TTP in Afghanistan," General Asim Munir said, referring to the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan militant group, also known as the Pakistani Taliban.
The July 14 statement came after two militant attacks in recent days killed 12 Pakistani soldiers in the southwestern Balochistan Province that borders Afghanistan.
Nine soldiers were killed when militants stormed an army base in the Zhob district on July 12, marking the highest death toll in a single day for the Pakistani Army in several months.
Three soldiers were killed in a separate attack on the same day when gunmen targeted an army convoy in Sui, a town that the country’s main natural gas pipeline passes through.
"Such attacks are intolerable and would elicit an effective response from the security forces of Pakistan," said Munir, who visited Balochistan on July 14.
Several militant groups, including the TTP, Islamic State, and the newly formed Tehrik-e Jihad Pakistan have a presence in Balochistan.
Tehrik-e Jihad Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack in Zhob.
The army chief said he expects the Afghan Taliban to live up to their promises from a 2020 Doha agreement with the United States to prevent any terrorist group from using Afghan soil for attacks.
Munir also claimed that "Afghan nationals were involved in recent acts of terrorism in Pakistan," but didn't provide further details.
There was no immediate response from the Taliban in Kabul. The Taliban-led government has in the past rejected Islamabad’s claim that it harbors militants who carry out cross-border attacks in Pakistan.
The TTP has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks on Pakistani troops and police in Balochistan in recent years.
The gas-rich province has also been the scene of a low-level insurgency by local separatists for two decades.