KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Pakistani security forces have killed 54 militants attempting to cross into the country from Afghanistan, in one of the deadliest border clashes in recent years, the Pakistani military said on Sunday.
In an official statement, the military said intelligence reports identified the militants as members of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). It accused the group of being dispatched by “foreign masters” to carry out attacks inside Pakistan, without naming a specific country.
The infiltration attempt occurred near North Waziristan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province along the Afghan border, once a stronghold of TTP fighters.
Security forces reportedly detected and engaged the militants before they could breach Pakistani territory.
Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi called it the highest single-day militant death toll since Pakistan escalated operations against armed groups.
Taliban authorities in Kabul have not commented on the incident.
Tensions between Islamabad and the Taliban government have steadily worsened over the past three years, fueled by the presence of TTP fighters in Afghanistan and recurring border disputes.
The TTP, which shares ideological ties with the Afghan Taliban, has ramped up attacks against Pakistani security forces, deepening Islamabad’s security concerns.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban of sheltering TTP militants who use Afghan soil to plan and launch attacks. The Taliban, however, deny allowing any group to operate against other countries from Afghanistan.
While exact figures remain unclear, Pakistan’s former special envoy for Afghanistan, Asif Durrani, previously estimated that around 6,000 TTP members and their families are currently based in Afghanistan.
