Pakistani security forces on Monday claim they killed dozens of unidentified “militants” who were attempting to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan.
Some Pakistani officials hinted these “militants” were sent by India to distract the Pakistani military at a time of heightened tensions in Kashmir, although the administration of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif made no formal accusation.
The Pakistani Army, on the other hand, issued a statement that was thick with innuendo. The army said the actions of more than 70 insurgents from Afghanistan, “at a time when India is leveling baseless accusations against Pakistan,” indicated who the militants from Afghanistan were taking “cues” from.
The Pakistani army identified these militants with a vague term, “Khwarij,” which broadly describes fighters who have lost sight of true Islamic teachings. When the Pakistani government uses this term, they are almost invariably referring to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistani Taliban.
TTP is a militant group associated with al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban that seeks to overthrow the Pakistani government and replace it with an Islamic “caliphate,” much as the Taliban has done in Afghanistan.
According to the Pakistan army, “large groups” of “militants” attempted to cross the border on Friday and Saturday night, only to be “effectively engaged and thwarted” by Pakistani security forces. The “militants” allegedly carried “a large cache of weapons, ammunition, and explosives.”
“We had information that the foreign masters of these terrorists are asking them to enter Pakistan as soon as possible,” said Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
Tensions between India and Pakistan have been running high since last Tuesday’s brutal slaughter of tourists in Kashmir, a contested territory claimed by both India and Pakistan.
A Kashmiri separatist group claimed responsibility for gunning down 26 Hindu men after taking steps to spare women, children, and Muslims. Indian officials claim the attack was masterminded by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LT), a jihadi group based in Pakistan.
Some Indian officials accused the Pakistani government of either indulging LT terrorism or actively assisting with the Kashmir attack. These are the accusations the Pakistani Army dismissed as “baseless” in its statement Monday.
Much as Islamabad stopped short of openly accusing India of sending militants from Afghanistan across the border, New Delhi has stopped short of formally accusing Pakistan of abetting the Kashmir slaughter. Relations between the two countries have nevertheless deteriorated to their lowest level in years.
