Casualties as Afghanistan, Pakistan troops clash near disputed border
Kabul, Sep 14 (EFE).- A deadly clash erupted and caused casualties on both sides after Pakistani forces began constructing a new military post along the disputed border with Afghanistan, the de facto Taliban government said on Wednesday.
Taliban spokesperson Bilal Karimi said Pakistani border troopers started setting up the post near the shared Durand Line border — a demarcation drawn up during the British colonial rulethat Afghanistan has never accepted.
Karimi said some Taliban soldiers went to discuss the matter with the Pakistani side.
“Unfortunately, Pakistani forces opened fire that caused casualties,” the spokesperson said.
An exchange of fire took place, which “may have caused casualties on the (Pakistani) side as well,” said Karimi.
The Taliban official said the new military post along the 2,611-km (1,622-mile) border between Afghanistan and Pakistan violated the principles of peace between the two neighbors.
He said the Taliban shared its concerns with top Pakistan officials, and investigations were underway to prevent any construction and avoid a repeat of such clashes.
The Pakistan Army said they did not “what is the background of the Taliban statement.”
The army said it appeared unrelated to an exchange of fire from across the border with militants on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the Pakistan Army said it lost three soldiers in an exchange of fire with militants from the Afghan sides in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram district.
The Pakistan army “strongly” condemned the “use of Afghan soil by militants for activities against Pakistan.”
“(The) Afghan government will not allow conduct of such activities in future,” the media wing of the Pakistan army said. EFE
The Pakistan military has long been trying to complete the setting up of a fence along the boundary with Afghanistan to prevent cross-border militant attacks.
The Pakistan Army started the fencing project on the Durand Line in 2017 when militants repeatedly launched cross-border attacks.
No Afghanistan government has ever recognized the porous border that runs through the heartland of Pashtuns who form the Islamist Taliban militia.
Afghanistan considers some parts on the Pakistani side as Afghan territory.
lk-ssk
