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| Afghanistan |
| Afghan police demand weapons amid simmering tension with Pakistan |
| 2013-05-10 |
| [Pak Daily Times] Afghan border police, enraged by recent festivities with their Pak counterparts, are pleading for more weapons to take on their neighbours, escalating the tension between the two sides. The fighting, in which an Afghan border policeman was killed last week, has caused a sharp deterioration in relations between the important US allies, coming days before the Pak general election. Pakistain is seen as vital in bringing stability to Afghanistan as most Western forces prepare to withdraw by the end of next year. The commander of border police in Goshta district in Afghanistan's eastern 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.. province, Bakht Jamal Eshaaqzai, said his 250-strong forces were armed with mortars and machine guns, but that it would be difficult to match Pakistain's heavy artillery and tanks, visible on the other side of the border. Eshaaqzai says Pakistain had 12 manned outposts in Goshta, while Afghanistan had three. "We are under threat from their superior equipment. We urge the government to send us more as soon as possible," he told news hounds and members of Kabul-based think tank Afghan Analysis Awareness, who drove from the capital to Goshta on Wednesday. Shahzada, who only goes by one name, is one of hundreds of border police who have taken up positions over the last two days in Goshta. "We have high morale, but what we really need is heavy artillery," he said. Sporting a long beard and resting his hand on a machine gun, he added: "We're ready to eliminate our enemies." Pakistain artillery has destroyed several Afghan outposts over the last week in Goshta, where the remains of sandbag and concrete forts stand crumbling under the baking sun. The cross-border festivities on Monday and last week sparked large protests across Afghanistan, drawing thousands of men to the centre of the capital, Kabul, where they chanted 'Death to Pakistain'. |
| Posted by:Fred |