KARACHI: The Afghan foreign ministry summoned Pakistan’s ambassador to Afghanistan on Monday to protest the recent cross-border shelling into the country’s eastern provinces.
“Ambassador Mohammad Sadiq was summoned and told to ask his government to immediately stop artillery shelling,” the Afghan ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement.
Pakistani security forces reportedly fired over 300 rockets into the eastern Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nuristan. Afghan officials claimed that the shelling caused loss of life and property and several people in border villages have fled the shelling.
“As Afghanistan wants to maintain good neighbourly relations with Pakistan, continuity of attacks will negatively impact the ties. The ministry of foreign affairs urges Pakistan to stop the shelling forthwith,” said the statement.
Ambassador Sadiq confirmed that he was summoned to the Afghan foreign ministry. “I told them that the Pakistani forces targeted militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), not Afghan civilians. However, the loss of life and property is regrettable,” he told The Express Tribune by phone from Kabul.
TTP militants, aided by Afghan locals, have carried out several cross border attacks in Dir and Chitral district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, killing dozens of security personnel.
Pakistan’s military says that hundreds of TTP insurgents and their senior cadres who had fled military operations in Mohmand and Bajaur agencies and Malakand division have found safe havens in Kunar and Nuristan.
Ambassador Sadiq said there was little or no writ of the government in the two eastern Afghan provinces which are used by the TTP militants as a launching pad for cross border attacks in Pakistani border villages. The Afghan defence ministry expressed concerns over Pakistani shelling and warned it was ready for a tit-for-tat response, if the shelling was not stopped.
However, Ambassador Sadiq said the Afghan defence ministry should deploy troops to their eastern provinces to stop cross border attacks by TTP militants and their Afghan collaborators.
Nuristan Governor Tameem Nuristani had admitted in an earlier interview with The Express Tribune that only Afghan police were responsible for security in his province and that he had requested the government for Afghan National Army troops to boost security. (With additional input from news wires)
Published in The Express Tribune, September 27th, 2011.
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Pl do not try to push Pakistan,it will create a position which leads US and Afghanistan to repent on this behavior.
Before Afghanistan rebukes Pakistan it should first put a stop to the anti-Pakistan terrorists constantly launching attacks from its territory into Pakistan. If Afghanistan spent as much energy controlling its side of the border as it does on yelling at Pakistan, the Pakistani army would not have any need to shell Afghani border provinces.
So Pakistan shelling Afghanistan civilian areas is OK, but the US doing the same, but with precision guided missiles with Drones, is NOT OK! How hypocritical is that!
If you can shell Civilian areas of another Country, you might as well not object to Drones pounding Pakistani lawless Civilian areas. Why such double standards?
@ Mr Johar: We are the victims of 3rd border cross terrorism as well in KPK and Balochistan.please watch that fact.
Enough of the Afghanis and their cross border terrorism. They killed so many of our proud Chitral Scouts who beat them back. God bless the Pakistani military.
Time to teach the Indian lackeys in Afghanistan a lesson. Deport all the Afghanis from Pakistan and build a big wall so these people never enter Pakistan.
What all are we heading to? Do we want more wars for the solutions which super powers have tried in last 30 year? Tolerance and mutual respect is the solution which is, unfortunately, not in the list.
These afghani officials will be gone either way very soon. Let them make sense to themselves. They need to be reminded of what happened to the afghanis who supported the last communist invasion of their own country.
@Khan: Pl dont get me wrong since we are the victim of cross border terrorism at LoC for more than two decades despite hundreds of assurances given by Pakistan. During this shelling by Pak troops, the terrorists are pushed into Indian territory and therefore my comment is based on facts and not on assumptions.
@F U Arindorn:
Try this line in Kabul and see rose petals rain on you!!
What's worse than a rebuke from Aghanistan?.....maybe a rebuke from Somalia?
The Afghanis are the most ungrateful of neighbours. We need to build a big wall to keep them out. They have shown time and again that they are nothing but lackeys of the Indians who take every opportunity to malign Pakistan. I hope the Pak military and government gives them the response they need when next some Afghanis intrude into Pakistan. They have caused untold misery for Pakistan and they dare speak against Pakistan?
@R S JOHAR: Whats up with you guys ... Can't you just have unbiased comments .. You guys are more than welcomed here as our guests but at least be impartial ... Isn't it the same border areas which are under Afghan Taliban control .. If Army is shelling that area then why are you getting annoyed .. aren't we complaining about Pakistan not targeting Afghan Taliban. Why can't NATO retake these provinces .. its not just GoP's propaganda .. I recently watched a Channel4 documentary on young British soldiers in Afghanistan and were saying that outside their base, areas across the stream was under complete control of Taliban up to the border with Pakistan and they cross in to their areas. I am sure any one can watch that program online. And don't forget, We are the same people who are hosting and have been hosting up to 5 Million refugees from past 32 years free of cost all over the country. I am sure if we ask you to host them in India all of you will run away.
@Arindom: Afghanistan is brotherly country of Pakistan sharing culture, language, people and life line. They import from needle to air craft , using Pakistani Ports, Roads and air space. So all the satanic verses from Yank - Baniya alliances are going to evaporate in thin air.
@Feroz: that's the only way to deal with a neighbour that harbours dangerous snakes in it's courtyard and insists on sending them across the fence!!
Before taking a stance on this issue you should consider this: what has Afghanistan in the wake of the many casualties that Pak Army has faced from the insurgents residing in Nuristan and Kunar....NOTHING!
What is this childish blame game going on. Today Kabul rebukes the Pakistani Ambassador, next day it is tit for tat from Islamabad. Very very immature manner in which diplomacy is being conducted.
Afghanistan should reciprocate the Indian army's way of firing double the amount of shells fired by the Pakistan army, which makes them think twice before making another attempt.