17 others sustain injuries n ISPR says Pakistani border troops gave befitting response against the uncalled for aggression, but avoided targeting innocent civilians.
ISLAMABAD - At least six people were killed and 17 others sustained injuries on Sunday when Afghan Border Forces opened “unprovoked and in- discriminate fire” on the civilian population in Balochistan’s Cha- man district, said the In- ter-Services Public Rela- tions (ISPR) directorate. The army’s media wing said that on De- cember 11, the Afghan Border Forces opened unprovoked and indis- criminate fire of heavy weapons including artil- lery/ mortar onto the ci- vilian population in Cha- man, the border district of Balochistan, causing martyrdom of six civil- ians with another 17 in- dividuals being injured. “Pakistani border troops have given be- fitting albeit measured response against the uncalled for aggression, but avoided targeting innocent civilians in the area,” said the ISPR. Later, Pakistan also approached Afghan au- thorities at Kabul to highlight severity of the situation and demanded a strict action to obviate any such recurrence of the incident in future. The Afghan rockets landed in Killi Sheikh Lal Muhammad in the Pakistani territory at the border, a senior of- ficial of the district ad- ministration confirmed on the condition of an- onymity. “We were sit- ting inside the house when a rocket land- ed near our house,” Ni- zamuddin, a resident of the area said and add- ed that one of his cous- ins was martyred in the attack. The Medical Su- perintendent of Civil Hospital Chaman said that they have received six dead bodies at the hospital, adding that 30 injured were also brought to the hospital for medical treatment. An emergency was declared in the hospi- tal to provide medical treatment to the injured of the attack. However, critically injured peo- ple were rushed to Civ- il Hospital Quetta for medical treatment. Condemning the in- cident, Interior Minis- ter Rana Sanaullah ex- pressed his concerns over the unprovoked firing by the Afghan forces. He said that de- tails are being gathered regarding the tragic in- cident, adding that the use of heavy weapons by Afghan forces was concerning. The interior minister requested the Baloch- istan government to provide full assistance to the affected citizens. He prayed for the early recovery of the injured citizens. Chief Minister Balochistan Mir Quddus Bizenjo strongly con- demned the attack. In a statement, he direct- ed the administration to protect the civilians. He instructed the health department to make sure provision of better health facilities to the injured. Meanwhile, Afghan official Noor Ahmad, in Kandahar, the province on the Afghan side of the border, told the internation- al media that the incident was accidental and the situation had returned to normal after the two sides had a meeting. He gave no further details on any casualties on the Afghan side. The Chaman border – also known as Friendship Gate – connects Balochistan province to Afghanistan’s Kandahar. It was closed last month af- ter an armed Afghan reportedly crossed onto Pakistan’s side of the border and opened fire on security troops, martyring a sol- dier and injuring another two. The Taliban-led govern- ment in Afghanistan termed the event ‘sad’ and reported- ly assigned a high-level delega- tion to probe the incident and find the perpetrator. Later that month, eight people, including two children and three FC per- sonnel, were injured in Kurram district as Afghans from across the border opened fire on them over a dispute over the con- struction of a road. According to reports, Afghans crossed the border into the Kharlachi area of Kurram dis- trict and “illegally” tried to build a road. The locals there tried to stop them from building a road on their farmlands. This led to an exchange of fire and unrest in the area. The Af- ghans fired mortar shells in- side Kharlachi, Borki and oth- er localities of the area, injuring eight people, including two chil- dren and three FC personnel.