Security forces thwarted infiltration bids by two groups of Indian-sponsored terrorists, Fitna al-Khawarij, eliminating 25 attackers along the Pak-Afghan border, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Sunday.
In a statement, the military’s media wing noted the infiltration attempts from Afghanistan occurred as delegations from Islamabad and Kabul were engaged in peace talks in Turkiye following deadly clashes between the neighboring countries earlier this month.
The ISPR said security forces acted on reports of movements of two large groups of militants in Kurram district and North Waziristan district on the night of Oct. 24-25. It said troops had precisely and skillfully engaged one group in North Waziristan’s Spinwam, killing 15 militants, including four suicide bombers.
In a second operation in Kurram’s Ghaki area, security forces killed 10 terrorists, and recovered a large number of weapons, ammunition and explosives.
During the intense exchange of fire in both incidents, five soldiers embraced martyrdom. The ISPR has identified the martyrs as Havildar Manzoor Hussain, 35, resident of Ghizar district; Sepoy Nauman Ilyas Kiyani, 23, resident of Poonch district; Sepoy Muhammad Adil, 24, resident of Kasur district; Sepoy Shah Jehan, 25, resident of Vehari district; and Sepoy Ali Asghar, 25, resident of Pakpattan district.
The military’s media wing said the infiltration attempts “cast doubts on the intentions of the Interim Afghan government with regard to addressing the issue of terrorism emanating from its soil.” It stressed that the security forces of Pakistan were unwavering in their commitment to defending the nation’s borders, adding sacrifices of brave soldiers served to further strengthen this resolve.
“A sanitization operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored kharji found in the area,” it said. “Relentless counterterrorism campaign under vision Azm-e-Istehkam (as approved by Federal Apex Committee on National Action Plan) by security forces and law enforcement agencies of Pakistan will continue at full pace to wipe out the menace of foreign-sponsored and supported terrorism from the country,” it added.
In separate statements, both President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid tribute to the security forces for foiling terrorist attempts to infiltrate Pakistan. They also lauded the five martyrs and offered condolences to their families.