Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossing reopens after lethal firing | Army Information
Chaman crossing reopens two days after cross-border trade of fireplace killed a minimum of 9 Pakistani civilians and an Afghan soldier.
Islamabad, Pakistan – A key border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan has reopened two days after a cross-border exchange of fire killed a minimum of 9 Pakistani civilians and an Afghan soldier.
Abdul Hameed Zehri, an official at Chaman because the crossing on the Pakistani facet is thought, instructed Al Jazeera on Tuesday the state of affairs there may be again to regular.
”The border is open for commerce and civilian use as standard. Issues are operating easily and state of affairs is calm right here,” Zehri mentioned.
The Chaman border crossing, located almost 120km (74 miles) northwest of Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, is without doubt one of the busiest crossings between the 2 international locations and is utilized by 1000’s of individuals day-after-day.
On Sunday, the Pakistani navy mentioned “unprovoked and indiscriminate” firing from the Afghan facet on the crossing killed a number of civilians and wounded greater than a dozen others – the most recent lethal flare-up at their tense border.
The following day, Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif instructed parliament the Afghan authorities had apologised for the firing.
”Provocation was began by Afghanistan. Our forces had been repairing the border fence after they had been attacked by the Taliban forces. In first spherical of firing, there have been no casualties however in second spherical, they used heavy artillery and mortars which resulted within the civilian deaths,” he mentioned.
The minister added that officers from each side met following the incident, by which Afghan authorities assured such an incident wouldn’t be repeated.
Kabul mentioned a minimum of one Taliban soldier died in Sunday’s firing whereas 10 others had been injured.
In a tweet on Monday, Abdul Qahar Balkhi, spokesman for Afghanistan’s international ministry, mentioned the repetition of such incidents could be regrettable.
He mentioned the Afghanistan authorities “on its half has taken critical preventative measures and likewise calls on the Pakistani authorities to pay critical consideration to stopping provocations that trigger violence and adversely have an effect on relations between the international locations”.
Yesterday a tragic incident passed off alongside the Boldak-Chaman crossing level resulting in casualties on each side. The repetition of such incidents is regrettable. The IEA on its half has taken critical preventative measures and likewise calls on the Pakistani authorities pic.twitter.com/Fdx0uqPfjV
— Abdul Qahar Balkhi (@QaharBalkhi) December 12, 2022
Additionally on Monday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif mentioned he’ll name a gathering to assessment the state of affairs on the border with Afghanistan.
“The federal government calls for the Afghan authorities ought to forestall incidents which might damage bilateral ties,” he instructed reporters in Islamabad.
Final month, the Chaman crossing was closed for a week when an Afghan gunman killed a Pakistani safety official on November 13.
