Pakistani officer dies of wounds from Afghan border clashes

A Pakistani officer has died after being shot by Afghan forces at the countries’ main border crossing, the Pakistani authorities say.

The Pakistani army statement said that one Pakistani soldier had been wounded but that “security forces responded to Afghan firing effectively”.

Clashes among the Afghan and Pakistani forces in Torkham erupted late on Sunday night after the Afghan border guards prevented the installation of a gate by Pakistani forces.

 After Pakistan rebuffed pressure from Afghanistan and the United States to take action against Taliban leaders based on its territory, a U.S. military drone assassinated Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor in the western Pakistani province of Balochistan on May 22. Over two dozen border guards from both sides have been wounded so far.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have traded blame for the latest violence while calling for a peaceful resolution. Pakistan’s foreign policy chief, Sartaj Aziz, expressed concern over what he called the Afghan army’s attempts to “disrupt border management efforts” by Pakistan.

Pakistan military also said that the country wants to peacefully resolve the border issue with Afghanistan.

The Foreign Secretary stressed that the Pakistani side was undertaking construction works on its side to regulate the movements of people as well as vehicles with the prior agreement of the Afghan Government.

One Afghan guard was killed and a total of 22 people were wounded, officials said. Afghan officials from Ghani have blamed Pakistan for the collapse of peace talks with the Taliban and for continuing to provide sanctuaries for Taliban leaders and fighters inside Pakistan. “Everything is suspended. A curfew has been imposed and many families have been forced out of that area to seek refuge in other places”. Torkham is the busiest official border cross between the two countries and serves as a major conduit for trade as well.

Afghanistan also summoned the Pakistani ambassador in Kabul to protest the firing incident. On his Facebook page, Zakhilwal said the two sides had agreed on “de-escalation of tension, draw down of military build up and steps forward to an amicable solution”.