Pakistan kills 16 fighters amid rising Afghanistan border tensions
Pakistan's army has said its forces killed 16 armed fighters along the country's western border with Afghanistan.
Pakistan has 'consistently been asking the Interim Afghan Government to ensure effective border management on their side of the border', according to an army statement Sunday.
Border troops killed all the fighters in an exchange of fire during the night between March 22 and 23 in North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the army said.
'Own troops effectively engaged and thwarted their attempt to infiltrate,' it added. 'Security forces of Pakistan are determined and remain committed to secure its borders and eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country.'
The incident took place as Pakistan's Special Representative for Afghanistan Sadiq Khan is on a two-day official visit to Kabul to talk about bilateral and economic issues, a statement from Pakistan's embassy in Kabul said.
Earlier this month, Pakistan's security forces raided two hideouts used by an armed group in the Mohmand and Dera Ismail Khan districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Once considered one of the Afghan Taliban's closest allies, Pakistan has seen relations with its neighbour deteriorate over the past three years.
Islamabad blames Afghanistan's Taliban rulers for failing to curb the activities of the Pakistan Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a group that emerged in 2007 and has since carried out hundreds of attacks against Pakistani security forces.
In 2024 alone, Pakistan has witnessed more than 500 attacks, resulting in more than 1,500 deaths among civilians and law enforcement personnel.
The outlawed TTP is a separate group but an ally of the Afghan Taliban, who reseized power in neighbouring Afghanistan in August 2021 as United States and other NATO troops were in the final stages of a withdrawal from the country after 20 years of war.
The Pakistani government has frequently accused Afghan citizens of involvement in these attacks and claims Kabul provides shelter to TTP, a charge the Afghan Taliban denies.
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