QUETTA: Hundreds of tribesmen belonging to various tribes of Chaman marched on the streets of the border town on Saturday, condemning Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for hurling threats at Pakistan. The charged tribesmen said they would fight on the front line against India if the latter committed the mistake of attacking their motherland.

The tribesmen were carrying banners and placards inscribed with slogans against the Indian prime minister and anti-Pakistan elements.

The tribesmen later gathered at the press club where tribal elder Naseer Ahmed Bacha and other leaders spoke. They denounced Indian forces for atrocities being committed in held Kashmir and urged the international community to take notice of the Indian government’s inhumane attitude towards the Kashmiri people demanding their right to self-determination.

The tribesmen noted that over 108 Kashmiris had been killed over the past two months in India-held Kashmir. Haji Muhammad Essa Ghabizai, another tribal elder, said that Pakistan is their country and Pakhtun tribesmen would not hesitate to lay down their lives for the protection of the motherland. The tribal elders vowed that they would fight against the enemy shoulder to shoulder with the Pakistan Army.

The border town witnessed an unfortunate incident last month. On Aug 18, the tribesmen held a big demonstration at the Friendship Gate on the border with Afghanistan to protest against remarks that Mr Modi had made about Balochistan in India’s independence day speech.

When the demonstrators were leaving the place, Afghan protesters across the border torched a Pakistani national flag that led to the closure of the border for 12 days.

The incident had resulted in suspension of the movement of trucks involved in trade shipments between the two countries and carrying supplies for Nato forces in Afghanistan.

Sources said that a large number of Afghan nationals, celebrating the 97th anniversary of their country’s independence day, gathered near the Friendship Gate after marching through the streets of the Spin Boldak town across the border.

Shouting slogans against Pakistan, the Afghan demonstrators started pelting the Friendship Gate with stones, smashing windowpanes of the building.

The Afghans swarmed the Friendship Gate after seeing the Pakistani demonstrators who were dispersing.

The Afghans snatched the national flag from a Pakistani protester who stood close to the Friendship Gate and set it on fire, leading the closure of the border. The border reopened after Kabul condemned the incident and termed it as a “misunderstanding”.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2016

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