Rabbani seeks joint parliament session on Chaman border attack, TTP talks

PPP Senator Raza Rabbani has demanded calling a joint parliament session to hold a briefing on last week's terrorist attack at the Pak-Afghan border crossing in Chaman and talks with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). 

A Frontier Corps (FC) soldier was martyred and another two were injured in an armed attack on Pakistani security troops deployed at the Chaman border by unidentified men who came from the Afghan side on November 13. 

All trade activities and other cross-border movements were halted as the major border crossing — known as Friendship Gate — were closed following the attack. 

Rabbani, while sharing the details about a flag meeting between the Pakistani and Afghan authorities, said that the talks remained futile. 

In a statement, he said that terrorist activities are on the rise in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, while the progress in parleys with the banned outfit TTP remains unclear.

"Armed men from Afghanistan opened fire on the Pakistan security forces personnel at the Friendship Gate," he said.

The senator called for a joint parliament session during which a briefing should be given on the terrorist attack at the Friendship Gate and progress on talks with TTP should be shared.

He also sought a briefing on the increase in terrorist activities in the two provinces and said that amendments in the rules for the appointment of the chairman and the reformation of the parliamentary committee of national security should be notified.

Rabbani said that the Pak-Afghan border crossing at Chaman will remain closed for an indefinite period.

Hundreds of trucks containing goods were stuck waiting on both sides of the border, which Chaman Deputy Commissioner Abdul Hameed Zehri said was closed after prolonged firing between security forces from both sides.

A spokesperson for the media wing of Pakistan's military said they were looking into the situation to determine what had happened.

Meanwhile, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, in her weekly press briefing Thursday, said that matter has been raised with the Afghan authorities and is currently under investigation.

Baloch said that the pedestrians who were stranded at the border have been allowed to cross and we remain vigilant and actively involved in the matter.

Pakistan has called on the Taliban to ensure it lives up to promises that it would not harbour international militants. The Taliban denies harbouring militants.