Cross-border Afghan fire kills 7 FC troops

FC check post in South Waziristan targeted

ISLAMABAD/ D I KHAN:

At least seven Pakistani soldiers were killed on Tuesday when their border post came under attack from the Afghan side of the Durand Line in South Waziristan Agency, the military said in a statement.

The Frontier Corps check post in northeast of Angoor Adda was targeted from across the border, said the Inter-Services Public Relations, the military’s media wing. “As a result of heavy firing from the Afghan side seven FC soldiers embraced Shahadat,” it added.

Local tribesmen identified the check post that came under attacks as Khuja Khadir, which is located close to Shawal Valley, the area where the military is conducting an operation against Taliban militants holed up there.

The ISPR did not say if the attack was carried out by militants or Afghan forces. A little known militant group, calling itself Majlis-e-Askari, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Pakistan is likely to lodge a strong protest with the Afghan government both using the diplomatic and military channels.

This was the second incident in three days as on Sunday four Pakistani soldiers were killed when militants fired rockets from across the border in Khyber Agency.

The latest incident came at a time when relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan are strained by growing trust-deficit.

Army chief General Raheel Sharif recently called for better border management by the two neighbours to ensure long-term peace and stability in the volatile region. Both sides have often accused each other of doing little to fight certain militant groups.

While Afghanistan believes Pakistan is still sheltering Afghan insurgents such as the Haqqani Network, Islamabad insists that Kabul has done little to eliminate terrorist sanctuaries of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Afghan soil.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2015.