Two personnel of the Frontier Constabulary (FC) laid down their lives as suspected militants from across the Pakistan-Afghan border reportedly attempted to attack a checkpost in Khyber Agency early Friday, DawnNewsreported, quoting the military’s media wing.
Pakistani troops “effectively responded”, as a result of which six militants were killed during the exchange of fire, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) was quoted as saying.
Earlier this month, five soldiers of the Pakistan Army had lost their lives in a cross-border “terrorist attack” on three Pakistani border posts along the Pak-Afghan border area. The Pakistan Army reportedly killed over 15 suspected terrorists in their retaliatory action following the incident.
The latest incident comes at a time when Pakistan and Afghanistan have reported progress during talks in London on the re-opening of the Pak-Afghan border.
The two sides had reportedly agreed to take “tangible” confidence-building measures to ease each other’s concerns.
The dialogue in London was focused on mutual concerns about the existence of terrorist sanctuaries on each other’s soil.
Soon after the bombing of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar’s shrine, Pakistan Army had handed over a list of 76 ‘most wanted’ TTP and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) terror suspects living in hideouts along the Pakistan-Afghan border to Kabul.
The army had also closed the border crossings at Torkham in Khyber Agency, Kharlachi in Kurram Agency, Angoor Adda and Ghulam Khan in South and North Waziristan and Chaman in Balochistan.
Afghanistan responded by sending a list of 85 Taliban and Haqqani network ‘commanders’, allegedly residing in Pakistan and linked any action against TTP and JuA terrorists to “verifiable action” by Pakistan.
