Afghanistan claims at least eight soldiers were killed in Nari district of Kunar province. PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan summoned the Pakistani ambassador in Kabul on Tuesday and lodged a strong protest over shelling in the eastern Kunar province allegedly by Pakistani troops.
The Afghan Foreign Ministry said Deputy Foreign Minister Atiqullah Atifmal had conveyed serious concerns to Ambassador Abrar Hussain.
“Eight Afghan security personnel were killed in Kunar’s Nari district. The shelling also caused huge losses to properties,” stated the Afghan Foreign Ministry.
The Afghan deputy foreign minister told the Pakistani ambassador that “this is not the first time that the Pakistani troops have fired into the Afghan side of the Durand Line.
The Pakistani ambassador has been summoned several times, but there has been no change in Islamabad’s policy”.
Read: Afghanistan to demand arrest, expulsion of Taliban leaders from Pakistan: sources
Atifmal said: “We want Pakistan to help Kabul ensure security of the Afghans. Such attacks could affect bilateral relations.” The ambassador promised to convey Afghanistan’s concerns to Islamabad.
Meanwhile, Afghan Ambassador in Islamabad Janan Mosazai told a gathering in the federal capital that the senseless violence and imposed war in Afghanistan must come to an end.
He highlighted Pakistan’s role in the peace process in his speech on the eve of the 96th anniversary of Afghanistan’s Independence Day.
Read: China commends Pakistan-brokered Afghan peace process
He said the two countries would hold the 10th session of the bilateral joint economic commission in Islamabad at the level of finance ministers in a few days.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 19th, 2015.
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