Pakistani officials accused the Afghan side of unprovoked firing after Afghan officials claimed that Islamabad tried to construct a gate on what they say is their territory – Goshta district of Nangarhar province. PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
Cross-border clashes flared Monday morning between Afghan and Pakistani security forces for the second time in five days as Kabul and Islamabad engaged in a war of words over the porous frontier.
Pakistani officials accused the Afghan side of unprovoked firing after Afghan officials claimed that Islamabad tried to construct a gate on what they say is their territory – Goshta district of Nangarhar province.
Clashes erupted in the same spot last week, killing an Afghan guard and wounding two Pakistanis.
The Afghan government on Monday summoned the Pakistani charge d’affairs to protest the “unprovoked attack by Pakistani forces” – a claim strongly rejected by Islamabad.
The foreign office said that the Afghan troops had fired at an old Pakistani border posts, injuring one person.
“Our post was fired upon, injuring one person. The post has been there for a number of years,” foreign ministry spokesperson Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said.
He told The Express Tribune that the leadership of both countries agreed on the imperative of a mechanism for an effective cross-border management for the mutual benefit of both countries.
On the other hand, Afghan interior ministry spokesman, Sediq Sediqqi, had said, “Today, the Pakistanis returned to the construction site and said they would rebuild the installations.”
“Our border police told them not to do so. The Pakistanis fired at them and our police returned fire. The fighting lasted for two hours before the Pakistanis requested a ceasefire,” the spokesman added.
The Afghan foreign ministry also issued a statement claiming that the director-general of the first political department of the ministry Azizuddin Ahmadzada met with the Pakistani charge d’affaires Shah Nazar Afridi to lodge a formal protest.
“The Pakistani attack, which occurred at 8:20 am this morning, did not result in any casualties,” the statement read.
An Afghan government commander alleged that Pakistani forces intended to rebuild the border gates and installations which were destroyed.
“We repeatedly sent them memos and letters yesterday and the day before yesterday asking them to hold talks and make a decision based on dialogue, but they fired towards our checkpoints during the night,” Gul Nabi Ahmadzai, the commander of border police, Goshta District of Nangarhar province told the Afghan state National TV.
Afghan Interior Minister Mujtaba Patang told the Afghan media that if Pakistan advanced on Afghan borders again, the national police, national army, the people of Afghanistan would defend their borders.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Afghans staged an anti-Pakistan demonstration in Kabul on Monday to protest against what they alleged Pakistani firing.
Karzai’s claim rejected
On Saturday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the cross-border clashes could be an attempt by Islamabad to put pressure on Kabul to accept the “Durand Line”, the disputed border which Afghans do not accept.
The Pakistani foreign office, however, clarified on Monday that the Durand Line was a settled issue between Pakistan and Afghanistan and any attempt to reopen discussions on the subject was a ‘distraction from pressing issues.’
“The Durand Line is a settled issue. Opening discussions on this issue is a distraction from the more pressing issues requiring priority attention and cooperation of Pakistan and Afghanistan,” Chaudhry said.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 7th, 2013.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ