No technical traces about varsity attack found: Pakistan to Afghanistan

Pakistan has said no “technical traces” of telephonic contacts between the Kabul university attackers and people on its side of the border could be found and sought more evidence from the Afghan government.

Afghanistan had blamed militants using Pakistan soil to launch the attack at the American University in Kabul that killed 16 people, including eight students, and left 50 people injured on Wednesday.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called Pakistan army chief General Raheel Sharif on Thursday and urged for action against the attackers’ accomplices, Dawn reported on Friday.

But General Sharif told the Afghan leader that there were no “technical traces” to prove the telephonic conversation with militants in Pakistan with the attackers.

Gen. Sharif assured Mr. Ghani of “all-out cooperation” in investigating the role of Pakistan-based elements in the attack, but stressed that it could happen only after Afghans provide “more information”.

The Afghan government shared three mobile phone numbers allegedly operating on the Pakistani side of the border, which it claimed had remained in contact with the attackers.

Subsequently, the Pakistan Army initiated a combing operation along the Pak—Afghan border near Chaman to find the suspected persons. “We searched, but no-one was found during the operation,” the security sources said.

“Our evaluation of the evidence provided and outcome of Combing Operation so far, has shown that all Afghan SIMs used during the attack were from a network owned and operated by an Afghan company whose spillover signal affects some areas along the Pak—Afghan border,” the Inter—Services Public Relations said in a statement.

Pakistani intelligence agencies are, however, continuing with the evaluation of the intelligence shared by Afghanistan after the attack.

The Foreign Office had earlier condemned the attack.

The high-level conversation took place as US Special Envoy to AfPak Richard Olson, Special Assistant to the U.S. President Peter Lavoy and Commander of Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan Gen John Nicholson visited Islamabad, where they held meetings civil and military leadership.

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Afghan SIMs in Pakistan and the spillover of mobile phone signals at the Pak-Afghan border are the matters still un-resolved causing more terrorist activities in the country.

The Recent terrorist attack on Bacha Khan University in Charsadda that killed 21 people once again brought forth the issue of continues usage of Afghan SIMs in Pakistan which are responsible to assist terrorists in bloodiest incidents.

While talking to media after the incident, Director General ISPR, Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa told that terrorists who attacked Bacha Khan University were carrying mobile SIM cards of Afghan origin and one terrorist’s phone kept receiving calls from Afghanistan even after he was killed.

Although it is on the government’s priority list, since past many terrorist incidents, to stop the use of Afghan mobile SIMs in Pakistan, but the spillover of signals in the border areas and use of Afghan SIMs in the country is still going on.

"While clarifying the situation, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has said that it approached the Afghan Embassy in Pakistan through the Pakistan Foreign Office in August, 2014 to address the issue of mobile signals at Pak Afghan Border but unfortunately, there is no response from their side as yet."

“PTA had proposed a MoU to be signed between the two governments to resolve current and any future issues related to mobile phone towers and cross-border flow of signals. However, despite several reminders, no response was received until now”, a media statement highlighted.

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Areesh said:

This is important to note that despite Pakistan protests, Afghan government never did anything to stop spillover of Afghan sims in Pakistan.

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