Daily Times

PESHAWAR: Situation at the Torkham border crossing remained tense even on Monday as intermittent exchange of fire continued from both sides following the overnight clashes that resulted in injuries to at least 13 Pakistani and five Afghan nationals.

At least 10 civilians, two Khassadars and one Frontier Corps personnel were among those got injured when the Afghan border troops started unprovoked firing across the border, targeting village Bacha Mena.

As Afghan Chief Executive Dr Abdullah Abdullah told his ministers on Monday that Afghanistan and Pakistan had agreed to observe ceasefire along the Torkham border and solve the problem through diplomatic means, authorities in Pakistan were expecting the arrival of a high-powered Afghan delegation to the border for dialogue. “We were expecting Afghan defence minister and governor of Nangrahar as the Afghan side had hinted that they wanted to come to the border for talks. However, no one came till 4pm,” an official from the political administration told daily Times on condition of anonymity. The Pakistani authorities then decided to get back to the installation of the security gates that once again triggered firing from the Afghan side on the Pakistani positions. The exchange of fire continued till the sunset before a relative calm was restored after a long tense day at the border.

The curfew has already been imposed by Pakistani authorities in Torkham and Landi Kotal to avoid losses to civilians amid fighting as troops were moved to the forward positions. Residents of the two areas were told to remain inside their houses. It was also learnt that residents of Bacha Mena and Pasid Khel villages have vacated their houses as the fighting was feared to escalate.

In a statement issued on Monday, the ISPR said the Afghan security forces on Sunday targeted the under construction gate at Torkham that is 37 meters inside the Pakistani territory. Lt Gen Bajwa said the gate was considered essential to check and verify documentation of all border crossers, especially to check movement of terrorists.

Embassy of Afghanistan in Pakistan in a statement said the issue was discussed during a telephonic conversation between Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal and Adviser Sartaj Aziz. The ambassador is in Kabul these days.

Pakistan summoned Afghan charge d’affaires to lodge protest over the cross-border shelling, the foreign ministry said in a statement. The foreign ministry spokesman said it was further emphasized that all steps should be taken for avoiding recurrence of such incidents in the future.

The Afghan Foreign Ministry said on Monday that it wants to solve border issues with Pakistan through diplomatic channels. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan considers this tension as unpleasant. Afghanistan adheres to its previous accords with Pakistan and emphasizes peaceful methods and expects from Pakistani side to tackle this problem through diplomatic channels,” a statement released from Kabul said.