Last year, NATO and Pakistani forces cooperated in a series of complementary operations on the border between Afghanistan’s Kunar province and the Bajur region in Pakistan. The operation was praised by NATO commanders, who likened it to a hammer and anvil squeezing the militants.

It was unclear, however, if the latest troop movement in Pakistani was part of a larger operation involving both sides. The stretch affected lies far from the main insurgent battlegrounds in Pakistan: the tribal areas farther north.

The overall commitment of Islamabad to Washington’s aims in Afghanistan has been questioned. Pakistan has frequently been accused in the past of failing to stop - and sometimes aiding - the movement of insurgents into Afghanistan from its side of the border.

Abbas said Pakistan has 1,100 posts along the whole border, with some 60,000 paramilitary and military troops deployed there.

Abbas criticized efforts to secure the border on the Afghan side, saying “the strength of their side is very thin on the border.” He said Afghanistan has not accepted Pakistani offers to fence long stretches of the border or put land mines along certain crossings to control the traffic, he said.

“What do you expect from us to do? We have more troops on the border, we have more posts on the border. It should be matched at least on the other side.

They don’t even have 10 percent of what we have,” said Abbas, who extended his criticism to include other NATO forces operating in Afghanistan.