People living along border fear for safety

PESHAWAR:

People living along the border with Afghanistan said they were considering fleeing their homes because of heavy shelling and explosions.

Residents of towns and villages said border fighting starts in the evenings, placing their homes in the line of fire, often at sunset when families are breaking their fast.

"There is complete silence in the day, but the moment we sit for iftar dinner, the two sides start shelling," Farid Khan Shinwari from Landi Kotal, told Reuters. "We open our fast in extremely difficult situations, â as you never know when a shell can hit your house."

Residents in the town and nearby villages said there had been heavy shelling and some explosions heard in the past few days, prompting many to flee their homes. Officials say around 1,500 families have fled their homes.

Fighting along the 2,600-km (1,615-mile) border has ebbed and â flowed over the week-long conflict.

On Wednesday, both countries reported exchanges of heavy fire. Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said: "Pakistan exercises great care in only targeting terrorists and support infrastructure. No civilian structures have been targeted."

On Saturday, Pakistan struck "ammunition and critical equipment" at the Bagram air base north of Kabul, Tarar said, a key American command centre through the 20-year Afghan war.