Pakistan on Thursday summoned Afghan Charge d' Affaires to Foreign Office and lodged serious protest with him on Wednesday's unprovoked firing on border post that resulted in injuring of two Frontier Constabulary (FC) soldiers.
According to Foreign Office spokesman, Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, the Afghan Charge d' Affaires was summoned to the Foreign Office for conveying protest of the government of Pakistan on an unprovoked firing incident that took place on May 1, 2013 at 2145 hours from the Afghan posts on the Pakistani Gursal post. Two Frontier Constabulary (FC) soldiers got injured as a result of the heavy fire directly targeting the post.
"Pakistan security forces exercised maximum restraint and communicated first to the Afghan side about this serious violation through military channels", he said, adding the Afghan Charge d' Affaires was conveyed serious concern over this violation as a result of which two FC soldiers were injured. The spokesman said that this was not the first time that the heavy fire was initiated from the Afghan side causing heavy injury and damage to the Pakistani structures.
"Afghan Charge d' Affaires was asked to convey government of Pakistan's concern to the authorities in Afghanistan to timely share information with Pakistan military as per agreed procedure and avoid repeated violations which grossly undermine the existing co-ordination mechanisms between the security forces of the two countries", he said, adding Pakistan believes that such incidents are vitiating the friendly relations and creating avoidable tension between the two brotherly countries.
However, media reports claimed that an Afghan border police officer was killed and three others were injured in the clash, in the Goshta district of eastern Nangarhar province. Reports further claimed that Afghan troops destroyed parts of a controversial border outpost recently built by Pakistan and pushed Pakistani forces from the area following a heavy exchange of fire that caused casualties and escalated tensions between the two uneasy neighbours.