Pakistan’s military said on Friday that security forces had killed at least 30 militants who attempted to infiltrate from Afghanistan into the Hassan Khel area of North Waziristan over the nights of 1–3 July. Inter-Services Public Relations, the army’s media wing, said troops detected the movement of the group near the mountainous frontier and “precisely engaged” the militants, recovering a large cache of weapons, ammunition and explosives. The army described the combatants as members of the extremist faction Fitna al Khwarij—also linked to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan—and alleged they were “Indian-sponsored.” Islamabad urged the Taliban-led administration in Kabul to prevent foreign proxies from using Afghan territory for attacks on Pakistan. Neither New Delhi nor Kabul immediately commented on the accusation. The clash follows a suicide bombing in the same border district last week that killed 16 Pakistani soldiers, underscoring a rise in violence along the porous frontier. The army said it remains “resolute” in defending the border and vowed further action against armed groups operating from Afghanistan.