Pakistan claims killing of senior TTP commander in clash

The Pakistani military has claimed that it killed a senior commander of the Pakistani Taliban attempting to cross into Pakistan.

Former deputy chief of chief of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Qari Amjad Swati, also known as Mufti Muzahim, was killed alongside three other members attempting to cross from Afghanistan.

The Pakistani military said in a post on X that its "troops effectively engaged and thwarted khwarijs' attempt to infiltrate. As a result of precise and skillful engagement, four khwarij including kharji leader, a high value target, Kharji Amjad @ Mazahim were sent to hell", 

According to Afghanistan's TOLOnews, the TTP confirmed the killing of both Muzahim and another commander in a Pakistani military operation.

The killings come following weeks of clashes between Afghanistan's Taliban and Pakistan over accusations that the Taliban is harbouring the TTP inside the country and allowing it to cross over into Pakistan, where it is waging a deadly insurgency against the government.

The intense clashes have occurred along the border, with Pakistan conducting airstrikes in Afghan cities against what it says are TTP hideouts. Over 70 have been killed in total, including at least 50 Afghan civilians and 23 Pakistani military personnel.

In a warning to Afghanistan, the statement added: "It is once again reiterated that the Interim Afghan Government must take concrete measures to ensure that Afghan soil is not used by Kharji proxies to perpetrate terrorism against Pakistan."

The statement also accused India of sponsoring the militants.

Peace talks in Istanbul, sponsored by Turkey and Qatar, have been held between the two sides following a Pakistan-Afghanistan ceasefire agreement signed on 19 October.