RASC News Agency: Pakistani security officials have reported that border forces successfully repelled an armed infiltration attempt originating from Afghanistan early yesterday morning near the Kotkai area of North Waziristan.
According to security sources, a heavily armed militant group tried to cross into Pakistani territory with the apparent intent of launching coordinated assaults on local security posts. Pakistani forces, having detected suspicious movements beforehand, intercepted the assailants before they could reach their targets. The ensuing gun battle left several militants dead, and troops recovered the bodies of at least two attackers.
Preliminary identification revealed that one of the deceased militants carried an Afghanistani national identity card, later confirmed to belong to Qasim Khan, a resident of Giyan District in Paktika Province. Officials believe this discovery provides further evidence of the cross-border nature of the insurgency that continues to destabilize Pakistan’s western frontier.
Pakistani authorities have repeatedly accused the Taliban regime in Kabul of harboring and enabling militant factions such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has intensified its attacks since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021. Islamabad maintains that TTP militants have found safe havens across the border, using Afghanistani soil to plan and execute assaults against Pakistani security personnel and civilians.
Despite these mounting allegations, the Taliban leadership has persistently denied providing sanctuary to the TTP, claiming that Afghanistani territory is not being used against any neighboring state. However, regional analysts and local intelligence sources challenge this narrative, asserting that elements within the Taliban’s provincial structures not only tolerate but also covertly support TTP operations. Experts argue that the ideological and operational synergy between the two groups makes it nearly impossible to separate their networks “two faces of the same extremist coin,” as one observer described.
In recent months, both North and South Waziristan have witnessed repeated clashes, heightening tensions between Islamabad and Kabul. Analysts warn that the continued reluctance of the Taliban authorities to curb cross-border militancy could further erode diplomatic relations, disrupt border management efforts, and escalate violence along the fragile Durand Line.
This latest incident once again underscores the deteriorating security environment and the persistent threat posed by insurgent sanctuaries operating under the shadow of Taliban governance in Afghanistan.
