Afghan govt ‘apologised’ for Chaman incident

Defence minister says Afghan authorities admit mistake, promise such incidents will not happen again

ISLAMABAD:

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Monday announced that the interim Afghan government had tendered an apology to Pakistan, as the behind-the-scene efforts aimed at defusing tensions triggered by bloody border clashes in Chaman on Sunday appeared to bear fruit.

At least seven people lost their lives and 17 others suffered injuries in Chaman when it came under “unprovoked and indiscriminate” heavy gunfire and artillery shelling by the Afghan Border Force.

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“Pakistan and Afghanistan have resolved the matter,” the defence minister said on the floor of the lower house of parliament.

Asif said, “the provocation in Chaman was from the Afghan side. There was a portion of the fence damaged […] our people were repairing it […] they slammed the fence with a jeep […] they took the stand that the reparation work should have been referred to in the border security committee.

“When the matter escalated, they opened fire. In the first round of fire, no casualties occurred. But later when they used heavy ammunition […] because of that five of our civilians were martyred and two passed away on the way to Quetta.”

In response, Asif said, Pakistan fired at the Afghan post which resulted in casualties of eight to nine Afghan soldiers.

“After that, the border security committee met again and it was agreed that Afghanistan was at fault […] we believe that there was no motive behind this […] there is no evidence of any planning behind the attack.”

The minister revealed that the Afghan authorities had admitted their mistake and promised that such incidents won’t happen in the future.

“But speaker sahab, one thing is clear that the internal situation of Afghanistan is being reflected in its relations with Pakistan.”

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Earlier during the day, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the firing in Chaman district, calling on the Afghan government to ensure that such incidents were not repeated in the future.

In a tweet, the premier said, “Unprovoked shelling and fire by Afghan Border Force in Chaman, resulting in [the] martyrdom of several Pakistani citizens and injuring more than a dozen, is unfortunate and deserves the strongest condemnation.

“The Afghan interim government should ensure that such incidents are not repeated.”

Despite the killing of civilians by Afghan forces, Pakistan did not summon the Taliban envoy, something that raised many eyebrows. The Foreign Office strongly condemned the incident but its response was measured despite the seriousness of the issue.

Official sources told The Express Tribune that the reason Pakistan was cautious and took a more measured public stance was to avoid escalation in tensions.

The sources said Pakistani decision-makers feel that despite many incidents in recent weeks and months it is in the country’s interest to seek engagement with the Afghan Taliban and find a way out through dialogue.

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However, there has been criticism that Pakistan should have taken the issue more forcefully. Some believe that not summoning the Afghan Taliban envoy did not make any sense. At least the interim Afghan Taliban government should have been given a clear message, according to some observers.

However, the official sources said the government did convey a strong message to the Taliban government, albeit, through diplomatic channels.

“We do not want to vitiate the atmosphere by issuing public statements. This will not serve our purpose,” an official familiar with the development said.

However, the official said this did not mean that Pakistan had not forcefully taken up the issue with the Afghan authorities.

In a statement issued after the incident, the FO said Pakistan condemned the attack, saying such unfortunate incidents were not in keeping with “the brotherly ties” between the two countries.

“The Afghan authorities have been informed that recurrence of such incidents must be avoided and strictest possible action must be taken against those [who are] responsible,” the statement added.

“It remains the responsibility of both sides to protect civilians along the border. The authorities concerned of both the countries remain in contact to ensure that there is no further escalation of the situation and recurrence of such incidents is avoided,” the statement said.

After behind-the-scene efforts, the Afghan interim government on Monday issued a statement terming the incident “tragic”.

“Yesterday, a tragic incident took place along the Boldak-Chaman crossing point leading to casualties on both sides. The repetition of such incidents is regrettable,” Abdul Qahar Balkhi, the spokesperson for the Afghan Foreign Ministry, said in a statement.

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“The IEA on its part has taken serious preventive measures and also calls on the Pakistani government to pay serious attention to preventing provocations that cause violence and adversely affect relations between the two countries,” he added.

The clashes erupted apparently after the Afghan Border Force tried to prevent the Pakistani authorities from repairing part of the fence along the border. Pakistan in order to prevent the movement of militants and ensure better border management has fenced a nearly 2,600km-long frontier.

The previous Afghan governments opposed the fencing of the border and the Taliban regime shared a similar view.

But Pakistan is adamant that the measure is important to regulate the movement of people on both sides of the border.

Pakistan was hoping for improvement in bilateral ties after the return of the Taliban to Kabul but a series of incidents have undermined those hopes.

The Afghan Taliban, despite promises, failed to tackle the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and frequent border incidents highlight the challenges faced by both sides in improving ties.