6 soldiers, 5 civilians injured as Afghan forces target civilian population along Pak-Afghan border in Chitral

Published October 29, 2019
A Pakistani soldier keeps vigil next to a newly fenced border fencing along with Afghan's Paktika province border in Angoor Adda in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal agency on October 18, 2017. — AFP
A Pakistani soldier keeps vigil next to a newly fenced border fencing along with Afghan's Paktika province border in Angoor Adda in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal agency on October 18, 2017. — AFP

Six soldiers and five civilians were injured during an exchange of fire at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border between security forces of both sides, a statement by the military's media wing said on Tuesday.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Afghan security forces fired mortars and heavy machine guns from Nari district in the Kunar province "targeting civilian population" in Chitral's Arundu village.

"Pakistan troops responded effectively and targeted Afghan border posts Kandi and Dilbar from where fire was being initiated," said the statement.

As a result, "substantial damage" was dealt to the Afghan border posts. The exchange of fire was stopped "after engagement at military level".

In late September, a major and a sepoy of the Pakistan Army were martyred in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Mohmand tribal district.

Earlier that month, four soldiers of the Army were martyred and one other was injured in two separate incidents of firing by militants near the Afghan border.

Following the attacks, the Foreign Office had summoned the Afghan Charge d’ Affairs to lodge a formal protest against the firing incidents.

Pakistan has already fenced an over 900-kilometre-long portion of the Afghan border in an attempt to prevent movement of miscreants and terrorists between the two countries.

Opinion

Editorial

Plugging the gap
06 May, 2024

Plugging the gap

IN Pakistan, bias begins at birth for the girl child as discriminatory norms, orthodox attitudes and poverty impede...
Terrains of dread
06 May, 2024

Terrains of dread

KARACHI, with its long history of crime, is well-acquainted with the menace. For some time now, it has witnessed...
Appointment rules
06 May, 2024

Appointment rules

IT appears that, despite years of wrangling over the issue, the country’s top legal minds remain unable to decide...
Hasty transition
Updated 05 May, 2024

Hasty transition

Ostensibly, the aim is to exert greater control over social media and to gain more power to crack down on activists, dissidents and journalists.
One small step…
05 May, 2024

One small step…

THERE is some good news for the nation from the heavens above. On Friday, Pakistan managed to dispatch a lunar...
Not out of the woods
05 May, 2024

Not out of the woods

PAKISTAN’S economic vitals might be showing some signs of improvement, but the country is not yet out of danger....