Troops open fire to stop flour smuggling: army

Border guards opened fire on people trying to smuggle wheat flour into Afghanistan amid a domestic shortage of the staple, but there were no casualties, the military said. The country's flour shortage has been attributed to smuggling into Afghanistan where the commodity fetches a higher price.
Troops at a checkpost near Chaman noticed three pickup trucks loaded with flour trying to sneak into Afghanistan, chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said.
"They were first asked to stop and when they ignored they were fired upon. One of the vehicles was crippled due to the bursting of its tyres but the two others managed to cross the border," he said. Later a meeting was held between Pakistani and Afghan military commanders and an agreement was reached that "steps would be taken to prevent such incidents" in future, he said. "There were no casualties and there was no exchange of fire between two sides," General Abbas said.