Bangla Press Desk: Pakistan’s army said Sunday its soldiers killed 54 militants who had tried to enter the country by crossing its northwestern border with Afghanistan.
“Movement of a large group… who were trying to infiltrate through Pakistan-Afghanistan border was detected by the security forces” in the northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa between Friday and Sunday, according to an army statement.
The “group of jihadists was specifically infiltrating on behest of their ‘foreign masters’ to undertake high profile terrorist activities inside Pakistan,” it said, adding that 54 militants had been killed.
“Such actions by (jihadists), at a time when India is leveling baseless accusations against Pakistan, clearly implies on whose cues (the jihadists are) operating,” it said.
Separately, India has accused Pakistan of supporting “cross-border terrorism” after gunmen killed 26 people on 22 April in the worst attack on civilians in the contested Kashmir region in years. Islamabad has denied any involvement.
The Pakistani army said Sunday a “large cache of weapons, ammunition & explosives was also recovered” from the militants attempting to enter Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
It comes a day after 15 militants were killed in the province in three clashes that also left two soldiers dead.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore on Sunday that the militants’ “foreign masters are pushing them to enter Pakistan”.
“Our soldiers attacked them from three sides and killed 54 (militants),” Naqvi said.
“This is the biggest number of this ongoing operation till today, such a big number has never been killed before.”
Pakistan accuses the Taliban government of failing to rout out militants organising on Afghan soil, a charge Kabul routinely denies. Source: DS
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