PESHAWAR, July 1: Skirmishes continued between Pakistani and Afghan forces along the border near the tribal area of Mohmand Agency on Tuesday.
Reports reaching here said that firing, which started on Monday evening in Ghakhi Kandau, continued on the second consecutive day and both sides used light and heavy weapons to dislodge each other from their positions.
Unofficial reports said that four Afghan militiamen had been killed during clashes. A senior Pakistani official said that their forces had suffered no casualties.
Tension mounted along the border when Islamabad sent its army troops and civil armed forces to the inaccessible Anargai area of Mohmand Agency last week to establish checkpost and secure the border.
Reports said that sporadic firing took place between Pakistan and Afghan security forces till 11am on Tuesday and both sides fired artillery rounds. Official sources said that Afghan government had planned to set up checkposts and observatory posts in its own area.
One senior official told Dawn here that Pakistani forces had fully secured its area and border forces had been directed to exercise restraint.
The official claimed that Afghan transitional government had no concern with the prevailing situation along the border and some elements on the Afghan side were provoking the locals to create tension.
He said that the residents of Yaqoobai, a village on the borderland, had requested the Pakistani forces to provide security cover to them.
“We restrained our forces not to involve themselves until a final demarcation of the border was carried out,” the official said.
The official said that a team of the Survey of Pakistan would soon visit the troubled area to draw the demarcation line. The survey would be completed in a month, he said.
According to another report, the political authorities have arrested one Afghan national on charges of espionage in Ghalanai, the Mohmand Agency headquarters.
The alleged spy, Ali Shah Khan, was taken into custody on Tuesday and the authorities handed him over to the state agencies for interrogation.
