Three terrorists were killed by security forces during an infiltration attempt at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dir district, the military’s media wing said on Monday.

A statement 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.

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

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.

“Security forces of Pakistan are determined and remain committed to securing its borders and eliminating the menace of terrorism from the country.”

The Pakistan Army previously said that 29 terrorists were killed in a series of operations along the Pak-Afghan border in May, amid a surge in terrorism originating from Afghan soil.

The ISPR had noted a surge in attempts by Afghanistan-based terrorists to infiltrate the border and carry out attacks on the Pakistani side.

Last week, an attempt by 10 terrorists to enter Bannu Cantonment in the early hours of Monday was “effectively thwarted” by security forces personnel, “which forced the terrorists to ram an explosive-laden vehicle into perimeter wall of the cantonment.”

The ISPR had attributed the “heinous act of terrorism” to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, “which operates from Afghanistan and has used Afghan soil to orchestrate acts of terrorism inside Pakistan in the past as well.”

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’s strong demarche over the deadly terrorist attack.

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.

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’s spokesman angrily reacted to Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s remarks when he said that Islamabad could hit TTP hideouts in Afghanistan.

The military spokesperson said today regarding an alleged audio leak of the TTP chief that the group’s actions would be “taken to their logical end”, adding that they “only strengthened our resolve that Azm-i-Istehkam was necessary” for the country’s stability and security.

Leaders of the Afghanistan interim government held a meeting with Pakistani officials in Doha earlier this month in what was seen as an effort to ease tension following the announcement of a fresh operation against the TTP.

Zabihullah Mujahid, leader of the Taliban delegation at the Doha conference, had described his meeting with Pakistani diplomats as “good” and expressed the hope for developing “positive relations” with Pakistan.