<\/p>\n
Three terrorists were killed by security forces during an infiltration attempt at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa\u2019s Dir district, the military\u2019s media wing said on Monday.<\/p>\n
A statement<\/a> from the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the movement of three terrorists was detected by security forces in the district on the night between Sunday and Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe infiltrators were surrounded, effectively engaged and after an intense fire exchange, all three terrorists were sent to hell,\u201d the ISPR said.<\/p>\n It said Pakistan was consistently asking the interim Afghan government to ensure effective border management on its side of the border, adding that the neighbour was expected to fulfil its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for perpetrating acts of terrorism against the country.<\/p>\n \u201cSecurity forces of Pakistan are determined and remain committed to securing its borders and eliminating the menace of terrorism from the country.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pakistan Army previously said that 29 terrorists<\/a> were killed in a series of operations along the Pak-Afghan border in May, amid a surge in terrorism originating from Afghan soil.<\/p>\n The ISPR had noted a surge in attempts by Afghanistan-based terrorists to infiltrate the border and carry out attacks on the Pakistani side.<\/p>\n Last week, an attempt<\/a> by 10 terrorists to enter Bannu Cantonment in the early hours of Monday was \u201ceffectively thwarted\u201d by security forces personnel, \u201cwhich forced the terrorists to ram an explosive-laden vehicle into perimeter wall of the cantonment.\u201d<\/p>\n The ISPR had attributed the \u201cheinous act of terrorism\u201d to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, \u201cwhich operates from Afghanistan and has used Afghan soil to orchestrate acts of terrorism inside Pakistan in the past as well.\u201d<\/p>\n According to a Foreign Office statement, the deputy head of mission of the Embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deliver Pakistan\u2019s strong demarche<\/a> over the deadly terrorist attack.<\/p>\n The interim Afghan government was urged to fully investigate and take immediate, robust and effective action against the perpetrators of the Bannu attack and to prevent the recurrence of such attacks.<\/p>\n Relations between the two neighbouring countries have lately become strained, largely because of the banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group but also due to frequent border skirmishes. Last month, the Afghan defence ministry\u2019s spokesman angrily reacted to Defence Minister Khawaja Asif\u2019s remarks when he said that Islamabad could hit TTP hideouts<\/a> in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n