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| Afghanistan |
| Pakistan protests against 'unprovoked' Afghan fire |
| 2013-05-03 |
| [Pak Daily Times] Pakistain summoned the most senior Afghan diplomat in the country on Thursday to protest against cross-border fire, which officials say maimed two Pak soldiers and killed an Afghan guard. It was the latest clash to underline strained ties between the fractious neighbours, which have worsened in repeated months despite Western efforts to get them to work more closely on peace efforts in Afghanistan. The two nations accused each other of starting the firing on the border, which is a crucial battleground in the fight against Talibs who operate in both countries. The Afghan charge d'affaires was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to protest against "unprovoked firing", Islamabad said in a statement. "This is not the first time that the heavy fire was initiated from the Afghan side, causing heavy injury and damage to the Pak structures," the Foreign Ministry said, adding that such incidents were creating "avoidable tension". An Afghan official who declined to be named said in Kabul that one Afghan police guard was killed in several hours of artillery exchanges. "Afghan border police posts came under fire at around 9:00 pm (1630 GMT) last night. Our border police returned fire," Interior Ministry front man Sediq Sediqqi told AFP. "The exchange lasted until 2:00 am," he said, adding no further details were available as the incident was being investigated. The renewed friction focuses on a gate partially constructed by Pakistain at a site that Afghan officials say is inside Afghanistan. "The gate which was built inside Afghan territory was destroyed in last night's clash, and Afghan cops are now in control of the area," said Ahmadzia Abdulzai, a front man for the government 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.. province. |
| Posted by:Fred |