PM condemns 'unprovoked' Chaman border shelling by Afghan Taliban

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday strongly condemned the "unprovoked" shelling across the Chaman border by the Afghan Taliban that killed six Pakistanis.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, Shehbaz said that the "unprovoked shelling and fire" deserves "the strongest condemnation", noting that the "unfortunate" incident resulted in the killing of several Pakistanis and left more than a dozen injured.

The premier urged the Afghan interim government, yet to be internationally recognised, to "ensure that such incidents are not repeated".

A day earlier, Afghan forces fired rockets into the Pakistani territory from across the Chaman border, killing six civilians and injuring over two dozen as the rockets landed in Killi Sheikh Lal Muhammad.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement that the Pakistani forces gave a measured response to the aggression to avoid any civilian casualties.

The military's media wing further said that Pakistan had approached the Afghan authorities in Kabul to highlight the severity of the situation and demanded strict action to obviate any such recurrence of the incident in future.

Residents of Killi Sheikh Lal Muhammad said that the rocket firing started all of a sudden and that rockets landed close to their homes.

Initially, the casualties and injured people were taken to the Chaman Civil Hospital, where an emergency had been declared.

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Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Quddus Bizenjo also strongly condemned the attack and directed the local administration to protect the civilians. He also directed the health department to ensure provision of better health facilities to the injured.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah expressed concern over the rocket fire and said that details related to the tragic incident were being collected.

He expressed grief over the deaths and injuries to citizens and asked the Balochistan government to provide full support to the affected citizens.

Pak-Afghan tense ties

The Sunday incident has caused a major escalation in tensions between the two neighbours since Taliban’s return to power in Kabul.

The relationship between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban government is already tense because of the resurgence of terrorist attacks.

Pakistan says the Afghan interim government is not taking action against the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its affiliates.

Read More Pakistan, Afghanistan form 'high-level' committee to probe Chaman attack

Since the Taliban’s return to power, Pakistan has seen 51% more attacks as the TTP ended the ceasefire with Pakistan on November 28 and resumed its attacks.

There has been a surge in terrorist attacks in the country particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Balochistan where the TTP has targeted the security forces.

Last week, the head of the Pakistan diplomatic mission in Kabul narrowly survived an assassination attempt.