ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Army said on Wednesday that seven militants attempting to infiltrate the Pakistan-Afghanistan border from the neighboring country a day earlier had been killed, urging Kabul to effectively manage its border and deny the use of its soil to “terrorists.”

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said seven “terrorists” attempting to infiltrate the Pakistan-Afghanistan border were detected by security forces in the Spinkai area of North Waziristan on Tuesday. 

“The infiltrators were surrounded, effectively engaged and after an intense fire exchange, all seven terrorists were sent to hell,” the ISPR said. 

“A large quantity of weapons, ammunition and explosives was also recovered from the killed terrorists.”

The army said Pakistan has consistently been asking the Afghan government to ensure effective border management on their side of the border. 

“Interim Afghan Government is expected to fulfill its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for perpetuating acts of terrorism against Pakistan,” the army’s media wing said. 

It said Pakistan’s security forces are committed to securing its borders and eliminating militancy from the country. 

Pakistan and Afghanistan have traded blame in recent months over who is responsible for a recent spate of militant attacks in Pakistan. Islamabad says the attacks are launched mostly from safe havens in Afghanistan. Kabul’s ruling Taliban deny this and blame Islamabad for not being able to handle its own security challenges. 

Tensions skyrocketed when last month Pakistan conducted airstrikes in Afghanistan’s Khost and Paktika provinces against what it said were militant targets. The Afghan Taliban said the strikes killed eight, all of them women and children, prompting them to fire heavy weapons at Pakistani forces along the border.

Relations between the two countries had taken a hit earlier in November 2023 when Pakistan kicked off a deportation drive that has seen around half a million so-called undocumented Afghan refugees expelled from the country.