Quetta/CHAMAN - Tanks rolled in and border villages near Chaman were evacuated on Saturday amid fears of more clashes between Pakistan and Afghan forces, following Friday’s fighting.
Pakistani security personnel accompanying census teams were fired upon by Afghan Border Police in two frontier villages on Friday, sparking cross-border firing which left 16 people dead and dozens injured on both sides.
The toll was heavier on Pakistani side where two soldiers and ten civilians, including women and children, lost their lives while 46 - mostly civilians - were injured.
Balochistan authorities said on Saturday that as many as 2,000 families had been affected by Afghan shelling at the civilian areas near Chaman. They said 28 trucks carrying relief goods worth Rs40 million had reached the border town.
Schools remained closed and Bab-e-Dosti (Friendship Gate) at the frontier remained shut as military officials from the two sides held a meeting for the second day to defuse tension.
Chaman border crossing connects Balochistan with Afghanistan’s Spin Boldak district of Kandhar.
Diplomat summoned
Afghanistan summoned Pakistan ambassador to lodge protest, alleging that it were Pakistani troops who had crossed into Afghanistan that resulted in the clashes.
This came a day after Pakistan’s foreign ministry summoned the Afghan charge d’affaires to protest at the unprovoked firing by Afghan border police on the census teams in Kali Luqman and Kali Jehangir villages.
The Pak-Afghan Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMOs) also communicated through the hotline on Friday. Pakistan made it clear to Afghanistan that no such incidents would be tolerated at the border, and the country would respond with full strength to any future aggression.
Aggression to get ‘befitting reply’
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said Pakistan will give a befitting reply to all acts of aggression on the border.
“If our borders are violated and further destruction occurs then those responsible will have to pay the price,” he told media in Sargodha on Saturday.
He said that Delhi-Kabul nexus is apparent on Pakistan’s western border, adding that the firing was carried out to take attention away from Afghanistan’s inner politics. He said Afghan government needs to formulate a solution to finish terrorism.
Troop deployment
Fresh contingents of Pakistan Army and Balochistan Frontier Corps have been deployed at the border with tanks and artillery, sources said. Pakistan Air Force was also put on alert and be ready to respond to any aggression.
Security sources said that in Friday’s retaliatory action, Pakistani soldiers destroyed two Afghan vehicles and three of their check posts while several Afghan officials were killed. Reports from the area said some of the Afghan soldiers ran away and hid themselves in the homes of locals.
Kandahar police chief Abdul Raziq told ToloNews that Afghanistan lost four soldiers in Pakistani security forces response. As many as 14 soldiers and 23 civilians were wounded in the fight along the Durand Line, he added.
Evacuation
Chaman Deputy Commissioner Qaiser Khan said on Saturday that residents of Kali Luqman, Kali Jahangir and other nearby villages have been asked through loudspeakers and pamphlets to immediately move to safer locations.
He said the flag meeting between senior army officials was underway at the Bab-e-Dosti for the second consecutive day wherein the Afghan delegation will be pressed to permit continuing of census in the border villages.
PDMA assistance
“We can assure timely support to our brothers in this hour of trouble,” director general of the provincial disaster management authority (PDMA) Muhammad Tariq told a press conference on Saturday.
He said 28 PDMA trucks carrying relief goods had reached Chaman to ensure the provision of basic commodities, tents and blankets to the affected families.
Tariq added relief goods worth Rs40 million were dispatched to the border area on the direction of Chief Minister Sanaullah Zehri. The PDMA would send more help if demanded by the district administration.
Earlier on Friday, the PDMA also sent five ambulances along with medical teams to provide first aid to the victims and transported the patients to Quetta hospitals.
According to initial estimates, PDMA DG said, as many as 2,000 families have been affected by Afghan shelling. He said the district administration had been directed to make detailed assessment of the damages.
Giving details of relief goods, he said it include 2,000 tents, 300 sugar sacks of 50kg each, 300 rice bags of 25kg each, 1,100 sacks of flour, 2,000 food bags, 2,000 mosquito kits, 115 cotton utensils, 300 sleeping bags and other goods.
He said the there were no tents with the PDMA but the authority arranged them from market on emergent basis.
Using the opportunity, Tariq demanded Rs60 billion from government to purchase goods for meeting emergencies as the authority did not have any more relief stuff.
The media men were apprised that the chief minister had released Rs5 billion to PDMA on priority basis to meet the challenge arising out of the cross-border shelling.