ISLAMABAD: Pakistan condemned the unprovoked and indiscriminate firing on the civilian population in Chaman by Afghan security forces, killing at least six and injuring 17 others, and asked the Afghan authorities to avoid recurrence of such incidents and take the “strictest possible” action against those responsible.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took to Twitter to condemn the incident on Monday. “Unprovoked shelling and fire by Afghan Border Forces in Chaman resulting in martyrdom of several Pakistani citizens & injuring more than a dozen is unfortunate & deserves the strongest condemnation. The Afghan Interim government should ensure that such incidents are not repeated,” the PM tweeted.

“Pakistan condemns the incident that took place [on Sunday] where six Pakistani nationals were killed and 17 were wounded after Afghan Border Forces resorted to unprovoked and indiscriminate firing onto the Civilian population in Chaman,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said.

“Such unfortunate incidents are not in keeping with the brotherly ties between the two countries. The Afghan authorities have been informed that recurrence of such incidents must be avoided and strictest possible action must be taken against those responsible,” the Foreign Office spokesperson said.

She added that it remains the responsibility of both sides to protect civilians along the border. “The concerned authorities of both countries remain in contact to ensure that there is no further escalation of the situation and recurrence of such incidents is avoided,” she added.

The spokesperson’s statement comes a day earlier Afghan Taliban forces resorted to a deadly cross-border shelling at civilian population at Chaman border, one of the major border crossings between the neighbouring countries, which remained closed on Sunday.

However, the border crossing reopened and the locals told Business Recorder that the situations remain normal on Monday.

The Afghan interim government Ministry of Foreign Affairs also regretted the incident and also called upon the government of Pakistan to pay serious attention to preventing “provocations” that cause violence and “adversely affect” relations between the countries.

“Yesterday, a tragic incident took place along the Boldak-Chaman crossing point leading to casualties on both sides. The repetition of such incidents is regrettable,” said Abdul Qahar Balkhi, the spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on Monday.

“The IEA [Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan] on its part has taken serious preventative measures and also calls on the Pakistani government to pay serious attention to preventing provocations that cause violence and adversely affect relations between the countries,” Balkhi said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022