Security forces killed five terrorists who attempted to cross the Afghan border and infiltrate Balochistan’s Zhob district, the military’s media wing said in a statement on Sunday.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), security forces detected a group of terrorists attempting to cross the Afghan border in Zhob’s Sambaza area in the wee hours of Sunday.

“Own troops effectively engaged and thwarted their attempt to infiltrate. Resultantly, five Khwarij were sent to hell,” said the ISPR in the statement, using the term designating members of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have lately been strained due to frequent border skirmishes and Islamabad repeatedly demanding Kabul take action against the TTP for using Afghan soil to launch attacks in Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegations.

The outlawed group has increased attacks on security forces and other law enforcement personnel since breaking a fragile ceasefire agreement with the Pakistani government in 2022.

The ISPR statement reiterated that Pakistan has “consistently been asking [the] interim Afghan government to ensure effective border management on their side of the border”.

“[The] interim Afghan Government is expected to fulfil its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by khwarij for perpetuating acts of terrorism against Pakistan,” the statement read.

The military’s media wing said that security forces “remain committed to secure its (Pakistan’s) borders & eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country”.

Last month, security forces killed four terrorists and foiled an infiltration attempt by a group of terrorists trying to cross the Afghan border into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Khyber district, the military said.

The ISPR said troops effectively engaged and thwarted their attempt to infiltrate, and as a result, four terrorists were killed. However, during the intense fire exchange, Sepoy Amir Sohail Afridi, 22, was martyred.

In December, Pakistani fighter jets bombed four locations, said to be camps of the banned TTP, in Afghanistan’s eastern Pak­tika province, killing and wounding several suspec­ted terrorists, security officials said.

Sources said that TTP camps in the Murgha and Laman areas of Bernal district were targeted, including one that was used by Sher Zaman alias Mukhlis Yar, Commander Abu Hamza, Commander Akhtar Muhammad and the head of TTP’s media arm, Umar Media.

Army Chief General Asim Munir said on January 14 that Afghanistan was a “brotherly neighbour [and] an Islamic country” with which Pakistan “has always wanted” better relations.

“The only difference with Afghanistan is the presence of Fitna al-Khawarij in Afghanistan and the spread of terrorism in Pakistan from across the border, and it will remain so until they remove this issue,” the army chief was quoted as saying.