Quetta (Pakistan): Sixteen terrorists were killed by security forces during an attempt to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan in general area Ghulam Khan Kallay of North Waziristan district, the military’s media wing said here on Sunday.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces detected a group of terrorists attempting to cross the Afghan border in North Waziristan’s Ghulam Khan Kallay area.
“Own troops effectively engaged and thwarted their attempt to infiltrate. After an intense fire exchange, all sixteen Khwarij were sent to hell,” said the ISPR in the statement, using the term designating members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
It noted that Pakistan has consistently been asking the interim Afghan government to ensure effective border management on their side of the border, Geo news reported.
“Interim Afghan government is expected to fulfil its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by Khwarij for perpetrating acts of terrorism against Pakistan,” it added.
The statement said security forces are determined and remain committed to securing its borders and eliminating the menace of terrorism from the country.
The two nations share a porous border spanning around 2,500 kilometres with several crossing points which hold significance as a key element of regional trade and relations between the people across both sides of the fence, media reported.
However, the issue of terrorism remains a key issue for Pakistan which has urged Afghanistan to prevent its soil from being used by groups such as the TTP to carry out attacks inside the former’s territory.
Earlier in January, security forces killed six terrorists trying to infiltrate from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Zhob district of Balochistan.
In a statement, the military’s media wing said security forces intercepted the militants on the night of January 22-23 in the district’s Sambaza area.