Bilateral coordination: Pak, Afghan army teams discuss cross-border fire

Pak Army says there is no possibility of firing by its forces on Afghan forces.

RAWALPINDI:

An Afghan Army delegation headed by Afghan National Army Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Major General Afzal Aman, visited General Headquarters (GHQ) for a bilateral meeting with his counterpart here on Wednesday.

The meeting was held at the invitation of the Pakistan Army to discuss border issues between the countries. During the meeting, cross-border fire allegedly from Pakistan into Afghanistan was discussed in detail. The Afghan delegation was briefed on the issue by the Pakistani officials, who said that problem stemmed from terrorists’ safe havens in the Afghan provinces of Kunar and Nuristan, adding that intelligence had been repeatedly shared with Afghan authorities on the matter.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the army only traded artillery fire when its border posts were physically attacked by terrorists in large numbers.

To date, 13 such cross-border attacks have taken place with the last incident taking place in Bajaur Agency on August 23, 2012. The army clarified that there was absolutely no possibility of indiscriminate fire by Pakistani forces on Afghan forces or civilians.

Pakistan Army DGMO Major General Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmad thanked the Afghan delegation for accepting the army’s invitation.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2012.