QUETTA/KHAR: Secu­rity forces on Sunday repulsed armed attacks from across the Afghan border and killed six terrorists and injured several others in the Qamar Din Qarez area of Balochistan and the Bajaur area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“Six terrorists were killed while four Pakistani security personnel and a PAF soldier injured in the gun battle,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, adding that terrorists from Afghanistan had laun­ched “fire raids and physical attack” on Pakistani posts and those working on fencing the border in Qamar Din Qarez and Bajaur areas.

“Seven infiltration attem­pts were made in Bajaur over the past 24 hours which were foiled by Pakistani security forces,” it said.

The ISPR said that taking advantage of ungoverned spaces and facilitation inside Afghanistan, terrorists were resorting to such attacks to prevent fencing and construction of border posts.

The security forces responded effectively and repulsed the attacks, killing six terrorists and injuring many others. Four Frontier Constabulary personnel and one Pakistan Air Force solider deployed at an observation post were injured in the exchange of fire.

“To consolidate the gains of successful kinetic operations against terrorism, fencing of Pak-Afghan border and construction of border forts will continue irrespective of the challenges posed by inimical forces,” the ISPR added.

Pakistan has recently erected a 43km fence along the border with Afghanistan — from Panjpai to Sarlat area of Chagai district in Balochistan — as a modal project.

Two security personnel were wounded in the cross-border attack in Bajaur Agency’s Mamond tehsil, officials said. They were identified as Shahid Sultan and Fazal.

“A group of terrorists from across the border attacked our personnel in the border locality of Mamond. However, our brave soldiers have successfully repulsed it,” the officials said, claiming that several terrorists were killed and wounded in the action.

Bajaur had witnessed several cross-border attacks in the past, but the latest one took place after a gap of several weeks. Fencing of hundreds of kilometres of border areas has been under way in Bajaur to secure the localities from cross-border attacks.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2018