Pakistan urges the Afghan Taliban to prevent militants from crossing the border and staging attacks

By MUNIR AHMED
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s prime minister is asking neighboring Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to do more to prevent militants from crossing the border to stage attacks like the massive suicide bombing earlier this week that killed dozens in a border region. A suicide bomber struck an election campaign rally of a pro-Taliban cleric on Sunday, killing dozens in the district of Bajur. The death toll from the bombing rose to 55 on Tuesday, after a critically wounded person died at a hospital. An Afghan-based branch of the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said militants find sanctuaries inside Afghanistan, regroup and rearm there, and subsequently infiltrate Pakistan for anti-government attacks.