Security forces have killed four more terrorists and rounded up dozens of suspects in ongoing crackdown against terrorists in Sindh and Punjab provinces, police officials said.
According to them, a joint operation was carried out by the paramilitary Rangers and police in Pindi Bhattian, Vehari, Chiniot, Sialkot and other areas of Punjab.
They further said that the Rangers had extended the operation in Karachi had also been extended to other cities of Sindh, including Jamshoro, Hyderabad, Dadu and Shikarpur.
Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of harbouring the militants who carried out last week’s attacks, which killed more than 100 people across the country.
The Pakistani military said it used heavy artillery to fire at militant hideouts in Afghanistan Monday, after carrying out airstrikes on both sides of the border over the weekend.
Reports said up to 700 Pakistani families were being evacuated from along the border in Khyber tribal district “to protect them from any retaliatory attack”.
On Friday Pakistan gave Afghanistan a list of 76 “Afghan-based” militants and demanded that Kabul take action against them.
In a tit-for-tat move Monday, Afghanistan supplied Islamabad with a list of 85 militants it said were sheltering in Pakistan, calling for similar action.
Pakistan has already closed the two main gates along its porous border with Afghanistan, Torkham at the Khyber Pass and Chaman in Balochistan province. Officials said Monday they would remain closed “indefinitely”.
