US to step-up air strikes against TTP militants using Afghan soil to launch terror activities in Pak

The United States has finally agreed to ramp up air strikes and drone attacks on Pakistani militants hiding across the border in Afghanistan, a report said.

The decision came after Pakistani officials repeatedly raised the issue of Taliban militants using the Afghan territory in their meetings with the U.S. and Afghan officials. They alleged that jihadists are using the northeastern Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nuristan as a launching pad for attacks on its security forces in the border regions and demanded action against them, reported The Express Tribune.

Islamabad and Kabul had also substantiated their allegations with concrete evidence during recent tripartite meetings at Washington. Afghan President Dr Ashraf Ghani, who visited Islamabad from November 14 and 15, was also shown documentary proof of activities of Pakistani militants on Afghan soil.

They alleged that fugitive Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Chief Mullah Fazlullah and his supporters are seeking shelter in Afghanistan after they were ousted from Swat in a military operation in 2009.

Realising the gravity of the situation, U.S. authorities has agreed to hunt down three top Pakistani militant commanders, Mullah Fazlullah, Maulvi Faqir Muhammad and Mangal Bagh Afridi.