ISLAMABAD : Dec 16,2022: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan summoned the Afghan Chargé d’Affaires in Ministry of Foreign Affairs Islamabad on Friday.
Pakistan’s strong condemnation over recent incidents of unprovoked cross-border shelling by Afghan Border Security Forces in the Chaman-Spin Boldak area, resulting in loss of life, injuries and damage to property, was conveyed.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Islamabad , it is said that it was reiterated with the Afghan Chargé d’Affaires that the protection of civilians remained the responsibility of both sides and that recurrence of these incidents must be prevented. It was agreed to use established institutional mechanisms in this regard.
The statement further said that Pakistan remains committed to maintaining fraternal relations with Afghanistan. Peace along the Pak-Afghan border is intrinsic to this end.
This statement on behalf of the Foreign Office has come out at a time when Pak. At least one person was killed and 15 others were injured as a result of armed clashes between the security forces of Pakistan and Afghanistan on the Afghan border.
In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of the Pakistan Army said that many innocent civilians were injured due to the indiscriminate firing that continued throughout the day on the civilian population of Chaman inside Afghanistan.
However, Kabul appeared to blame Pakistan for the offensive, with the Taliban government’s Ministry of Defense claiming on Twitter that Pakistani forces had fired first and calling for a dialogue to resolve the issue.
Eight people were killed and more than a dozen wounded in the firing by Afghan forces and the ensuing exchange of fire in the area on Sunday, while at least one Afghan soldier was also killed in the exchange of fire.
At that time, no official statement was issued by the Foreign Office Islamabad or Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, who earlier this week made a statement in Parliament that the Afghan government has apologized for the incident of unprovoked shelling and firing. Now the matter has been resolved.
Last month, the Pakistan-Afghan border at Chaman was closed indefinitely after an armed person from Afghanistan opened fire on Pakistani security personnel over Bab Dosti, in which one soldier was martyred and two were injured. .
The sources had said that after the incident, there was an exchange of fire between Pakistani and Afghan forces for more than an hour.
According to reports, 5 officers were killed and 14 injured on the Afghan side.
Immediately after the incident, trade between the two countries including Afghan transit trade was suspended due to the closure of the border.
On November 22, Pakistan reopened the border with Afghanistan at Chaman after a week. The decision to reopen the border was taken by Pakistan. It was done in a meeting between border officials and Taliban officials.
