Pakistani troops kill 54 militants attempting to infiltrate from Afghanistan

The incident took place near North Waziristan, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province along the Afghan border.

Pakistani military on Sunday said it killed 54 “militants” for attempting to cross into their country from neighboring Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.

Pakistan army has been fighting the Pakistani Taliban, which is alleged to have the backing of the government in Kabul.(AFP file)

The incident took place near North Waziristan, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province along the Afghan border.

The military said the “insurgents” were spotted and killed in the restive province. A statement from the military claimed that intelligence reports have indicated those killed as “Khwarij,” a term used by the Pakistani federal government to describe Pakistani Taliban.

Without naming a country, the military alleged that the slain “insurgents” were sent by their “foreign masters” to carry out high-profile terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.

The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or the TTP, is believed to be an ally of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The group has been emboldened in its fight against the Pakistani government since the Afghan Taliban seized power from the Americans in August 2021, AP reported.

Nine militants killed

In March 21, the Pakistani military said it killed nine militants during a raid on a hideout in the city of Dera Ismail Khan, a city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a restive border province. All were identified as “Khwarij.” The raid came after eight militants were killed for attempting to enter Pakistan.

Shireen, a high-profile militant, was among those killed by the military. He is alleged by the military to be behind last month’s killing of army Capt. Hasnain Akhtar, who died during a shootout.

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Mohammad Sadiq, Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan, urged the Afghan Taliban to stop the TTP from carrying out attacks inside his country.

“Afghanistan has to work with us on this. If they are not working on this, then all deals are off,” Sadiq warned during televised remarks at a seminar in Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad.

(With AP inputs)