CHAMAN: One person was killed and 15 others injured in unprovoked firing by Afghan border forces on the Pakistani side of a civilian area, following a heavy response by security forces, Levies and hospital officials said on Thursday.
According to the local administration, the border area is being evacuated after the clashes and emergency has been declared in DHQ Chaman.
Medical Superintendent Dr. Malik Achakzai said that at least 12 people are under treatment in the health facility.
Levies officials reported that the Afghan side fired several rounds of artillery at the civilian population around the Bogra Road and Custom House areas. He further said that the Pakistani forces have given a full response to the Afghan shelling.
The deputy commissioner of Chaman said that an emergency has been declared at the hospital, adding that citizens have been asked to evacuate from Mall Road, Boghra Road Bypass and Border Road.
Officials have said that during the repair of the fence in the Sheikh Lal Muhammad sector of the border, clashes broke out due to the intervention of Afghan forces.
Afghanistan apologized.
This is the second time in five days that the Afghan border forces have resorted to unprovoked and indiscriminate firing using heavy weapons on civilian areas in Balochistan’s Chaman.
In a statement released by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), six people were killed and 17 injured during last week’s attack.
According to the media wing of the army, the Afghan border forces used artillery and mortars in the attack.
The ISPR said that the Pakistani troops on the border gave a strong response to the unprovoked aggression, but refrained from targeting innocent civilians in the area.
The statement added that Pakistani border forces have also contacted the Afghan authorities in Kabul to highlight the seriousness of the situation and demanded strict action to avoid any recurrence of such incidents in future.
On December 2, Pakistan’s Head of Mission in Kabul, Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani, survived an assassination attempt.
In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said there was an attack on the embassy compound in Kabul targeting the head of mission, but “by the grace of Allah, the head of mission is safe”.
However, a Pakistani security guard guarding soldier Asrar Muhammad Nizamani was seriously injured in the attack, the Foreign Office said.
The statement said that the government of Pakistan strongly condemns the assassination and attack on the embassy and demands an immediate investigation into the incident by the Afghan government.
