Pakistan’s security forces have foiled another attempt by Khwarij to infiltrate the country from Taliban-controlled-Afghanistan for terrorist activities, killing two infiltrators before they could enter Pakistani territory. The incident has renewed concerns over the Afghan Taliban regime’s failure to prevent cross-border terrorist movements and the alleged facilitation of such attempts from Afghan territory.
Security sources said the Khwarij were attempting to cross into Pakistan when alert security personnel detected and engaged them. Two infiltrators were eliminated. The remaining Khwarij fled with their wounded associates, leaving the bodies of those killed behind, the sources said.
The sources further said the infiltration attempt was made with the support and facilitation of the Afghan Taliban. The episode adds to Pakistan’s concerns that assurances by the Taliban authorities in Kabul have not stopped terrorist groups from attempting to enter Pakistan from Afghan territory.
The latest incident comes amid repeated infiltration attempts along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. In October, security forces foiled an infiltration attempt in the Kurram sector in which 12 Khwarij and Afghan Taliban personnel were killed, according to the military’s media wing. A Pakistani soldier was also martyred during the engagement.
Earlier, infiltration attempts in Kurram had also been followed by cross-border firing involving Afghan Taliban positions and Pakistani forces. In North Waziristan, security forces engaged Khwarij attempting to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan, killing 15 during a prolonged operation.
The repeated attempts have kept the Afghan Taliban regime’s counterterrorism responsibilities in focus. Pakistan has repeatedly urged the authorities in Kabul to prevent terrorist organizations, particularly the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), from using Afghan territory to organize, facilitate and launch attacks inside Pakistan.
The latest incident also reinforces Pakistan’s call for international stakeholders, including the United Nations and the European Union, to address the use of Afghan soil for terrorism against Pakistan and press the Afghan Taliban authorities to take effective action against groups operating from their territory.
For Pakistan, preventing cross-border terrorism requires more than assurances. It requires effective action to stop terrorist groups from assembling, organizing and attempting to enter Pakistani territory from Afghanistan.
