Islamabad urges Kabul to stop border incursions
Rehman Malik says he has submitted a complaint with his Afghan counterpart.
ISLAMABAD:
Afghanistan and Pakistan typically blame each other for Taliban violence plaguing both sides of their porous border.
On Tuesday, Pakistan asked Afghanistan to take appropriate measures to tighten its noose around militants, a day after it lashed out at its neighbour over cross-border attacks.
Islamabad lodged a formal complaint with Kabul over the Afghan militant attack on Pakistani security personnel in Upper Dir on Sunday in which over a dozen security personnel were killed while another 10 were still missing.
“I submitted a complaint with my Afghan counterpart for not preventing cross-border movement of militants into Pakistan’s territory,” Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik told reporters, adding that a written guarantee has been sought from Kabul that Dir-like incidents would not occur in the future.
Switching to politics, the PM’s adviser censured the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for using court petitions to derail democracy in the country. Furthermore, Malik claimed that an attack on a private television station on Monday had been carried out by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
‘Afghans flee shelling from Pakistan’
A barrage of cross-border artillery and rocket attacks from Pakistan have forced thousands of Afghan villagers to flee their homes, witnesses and officials in Afghanistan said on Tuesday. The shelling was reported in eastern Kunar province.
“More than 500 families have been displaced in two districts of Dangam and Nari due to continued Pakistani rocket shelling in the past two weeks,” said Wasefullah Wasef, a spokesman for the provincial government in Kunar.
“The shelling has intensified after the recent incident in which some Pakistani soldiers were killed by Taliban militants,” Wasef told AFP.
Mohammad Fazel Naseh, provincial head for refugees, told AFP: “So far 343 displaced families from Dangam district, and more than 270 families from Nari and Marawara districts have been registered.” (with additional input from AFP)
Published In The Express Tribune, June 27th, 2012.
Afghanistan and Pakistan typically blame each other for Taliban violence plaguing both sides of their porous border.
On Tuesday, Pakistan asked Afghanistan to take appropriate measures to tighten its noose around militants, a day after it lashed out at its neighbour over cross-border attacks.
Islamabad lodged a formal complaint with Kabul over the Afghan militant attack on Pakistani security personnel in Upper Dir on Sunday in which over a dozen security personnel were killed while another 10 were still missing.
“I submitted a complaint with my Afghan counterpart for not preventing cross-border movement of militants into Pakistan’s territory,” Adviser to Prime Minister on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik told reporters, adding that a written guarantee has been sought from Kabul that Dir-like incidents would not occur in the future.
Switching to politics, the PM’s adviser censured the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for using court petitions to derail democracy in the country. Furthermore, Malik claimed that an attack on a private television station on Monday had been carried out by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
‘Afghans flee shelling from Pakistan’
A barrage of cross-border artillery and rocket attacks from Pakistan have forced thousands of Afghan villagers to flee their homes, witnesses and officials in Afghanistan said on Tuesday. The shelling was reported in eastern Kunar province.
“More than 500 families have been displaced in two districts of Dangam and Nari due to continued Pakistani rocket shelling in the past two weeks,” said Wasefullah Wasef, a spokesman for the provincial government in Kunar.
“The shelling has intensified after the recent incident in which some Pakistani soldiers were killed by Taliban militants,” Wasef told AFP.
Mohammad Fazel Naseh, provincial head for refugees, told AFP: “So far 343 displaced families from Dangam district, and more than 270 families from Nari and Marawara districts have been registered.” (with additional input from AFP)
Published In The Express Tribune, June 27th, 2012.