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Use of army last option if cross-border incursions continue: Gen. Shaheem
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The Chief of Staff of the Afghan National Army General Qadam Shah Shaheem said Saturday that the Afghan government prefers other options to resolve the cross-border shelling along the Durand Line.Gen. Saheem was speaking during a news briefing to provide update regarding the security situation of the country and the ongoing major military operation ’Shafaq’. He said the Ministry of Defense has assessed the Pak military incursions in Nangarhar The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country.. , involving rocket attack and use of tanks on Lalpur district. Gen. Shaheem further added that a member of the security personnel lost his life in the attack and the report regarding the assessment will be released later. According to Gen. Shaheem, the Afghan government provides support to the Afghan Border Police forces along the Durand Line and will not station army considering the intergovernmental agreement between the two nations. However, the way to a man's heart remains through his stomach... he said the use of army would be the last option to respond to the military aggressions along with the Durand Line if other options did not yield any positive result to halt the incursions. He did not elaborate further regarding the options which the government has currently adopted to resolve the issue but the Pak Ambassador to Afghanistan Syed Abrar Hussain was summoned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan (MoFA) last week to protest regarding the shellings. According to the local officials, the festivities among the Afghan and Pak border forces erupted following heavy shelling by the Pak forces which forced the Afghan Border Police forces to respond. Posted by: Fred 2016-05-01 |
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