QUETTA: A day after armed clashes between Pakistan and Afghan forces claimed one life, the situation at the Chaman border remained calm with routine trade activities continuing unabated.

Pakistan also summoned the Afghan chargé d’affaires on Friday to protest over the “unprovoked” shelling that left 15 people wounded.

Amid the relative calm, the tension was palpable as forces on both sides of the border remained alert, with heavy weapons drawn.

Quetta Corps Commander Lt-Gen Asif Ghafoor visited Chaman and reviewed the situation at the border in a meeting with the authorities.

He met with tribal elders living along the border, traders, ulema and locals of Chaman.

Head of southern command visits border; Pakistan summons Afghan chargé d’affaires

Lt-Gen Ghafoor expressed his grief over the loss of life and property due to shelling by Afghan forces. He expressed sympathy for the affected families and assured all-out help and cooperation.

The participants of the meeting condemned the aggression from the Afghan side and said it was ‘an attempt to create misunderstandings’ between the two brotherly countries.

The meeting decided to take steps at all levels to mend fences and defuse the situation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Lt-Gen Ghafoor urged the tribal elders on both sides to play a role in reducing tensions and maintaining close contact with the other side.

“Nobody should be happy with the losses that took place in Chaman or Spin Boldak,” Lt Gen Ghafoor said, adding Pakistan did not initiate the attack and will not do so in future as well.

However, he vowed to “protect and defend the citizens at all costs.”

Sources said a flag meeting was also expected between senior commanders and border authorities of both sides on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Friendship Gate at the border remained open throughout the day and routine trade activities took place as usual. Travellers from both sides were allowed to move across the border after showing the required legal documents.

The transit trade was not suspended as well and trucks were allowed to cross the border.

FO summons Afghan diplomat

The Foreign Office, in a statement on Friday, said the Afghan chargé d’affaires was summoned to protest over recent firing incidents.

The FO condemned the unprovoked cross-border shelling by Afghan Border Security Forces in the Chaman-Spin Boldak area.

“It was reiterated that protection of civilians remained the responsibility of both sides and that recurrence of these incidents must be prevented. It was agreed to use established institutional mechanisms in this regard,” the FO added.

Pakistan remained committed to maintaining “fraternal relations” with Afghanistan, the statement said, adding, “Peace along the Pak-Afghan border is intrinsic to this end.”

Thursday’s attack came four days after the Afghan authorities ‘apologised’ over cross-border shelling that claimed the lives of eight people.

At least 16 people also suffered injuries on Sunday when Afghan border forces attacked civilian population in Chaman with heavy gunfire and artillery shelling.

The relations between the two sides have been strained for the past few weeks after a number of cross-border attacks and an ‘attempt on the life’ of Pakistan’s Head of Mission in Kabul Ubaidur Rehman Nizamani on Dec 2.

Amid rising tensions, voices are being raised in Pakistan to revisit the police vis-à-vis Afghanistan after the border clashes.

On Thursday, PPP’s Senator Farook H. Naek called for revisiting the Afghan policy while chairing a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs.

“We act as spokesperson of Afghanistan in the world against the wishes of the West, but on the contrary, the Afghan government often opposes Pakistan and raises guns against us which is very unfortunate,” he lamented.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2022