Daily Times

Pakistan has denounced the incident at Chaman, where six of its citizens were killed and 17 were injured after Afghan border forces opened fire on civilians without warning or provocation.

The Foreign Office said in a statement released in Islamabad that such unfortunate incidents are not consistent with the brotherly ties between the two nations. The FO also stated that the Afghan authorities have been informed that future incidents of this nature must be prevented and that those responsible must face the harshest punishment.

On Sunday, Afghan Taliban attacked a residential area at the Pak-Afghan Chaman border which killed six people and left 17 injured.

Pakistan Army’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relation (ISPR) had confirmed in its statement that Afghan Border Forces opened unprovoked and indiscriminate firing by heavy weapons including artillery and mortar onto the Civilian population in Chaman.

“A mortar shell landed and caused a huge fireball. After that I lost consciousness and don’t know what happened,” said Fida Muhammad, who was wounded on the Pakistani side of the crossing and taken to hospital.

The ISPR said due to the indiscriminate firing six civilians were martyred and 17 were injured. The ISPR said Pakistani border troops had given a befitting and measured response against the uncalled-for aggression but avoided targeting innocent civilians in the area.

The ISPR further stated that Pakistan has also approached Afghan authorities in Kabul to highlight the severity of the situation and demanded strict action to obviate any such recurrence of the incident in the future.

A senior Balochistan government official who spoke to AFP on the condition of anonymity said that the clash occurred after Afghan forces attempted to cut a portion of the border fence.

The Kabul-based Taliban government was silent at the time.

Every day, thousands of people, including traders, Afghans seeking medical care in Pakistan, and people visiting relatives, cross the border between Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, and Chaman, Pakistan.

At the Chaman border crossing last month, a gunman killed a Pakistani security guard, forcing it to close for a week.

Border tensions between the neighbours have increased since the Taliban retook power last year, with Pakistan alleging that militant groups were plotting attacks from Afghan territory.

However, the Taliban are also enraged by a fence Islamabad is building along the 2,700-kilometer border between the two countries. The Taliban deny harbouring Pakistani militants.