ISLAMABAD – Pakistani security forces took down 54 militants who tried to enter the country from Afghanistan during the night, as reported by the military on Sunday. This incident stands out as one of the deadliest clashes in recent years.
In an official statement, the military mentioned that intelligence reports identified the militants as “Khwarij” — a term used by the government for the Pakistani Taliban.
Although not explicitly accusing anyone, the military stated that the militants, allegedly sent by their “foreign masters”, were planning to execute major terrorist activities within Pakistan.
The insurgents were spotted and killed near the former stronghold of Pakistan Taliban near North Waziristan, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province along the Afghan border.
The military said the infiltration attempt came “at a time when India is leveling baseless accusations against Pakistan” following a recent deadly assault on tourists in India-controlled Kashmir.
Pakistan in recent months has witnessed a surge in violence, mostly blamed on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
It is a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since then.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tatar on Sunday told the foreign media that New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the tourist attack to distract Pakistan’s security forces from their focus on the war on its western borders.
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