PakPrinciples
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Afghanistan and Pakistan Trade Fire in Deadly Border Clash
Skirmish over construction of installation on frontier imperils months long effort to improve tense ties
KABUL—Afghan and Pakistani troops traded weapons fire in a deadly overnight border clash on Tuesday, imperiling a months long effort to improve ties between Islamabad and Kabul.
At least one Afghan border police officer was killed and two Pakistani soldiers were injured in the fighting, according to officials from both sides. The clash took place near the village of Angoor Ada, which straddles both sides of the boundary between the two countries.
Afghan and Pakistani troops have exchanged fire across the border before, but it is rare for such clashes to turn deadly.
The violence comes at a delicate time in relations between the neighboring countries. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has made reaching out to Pakistan a priority of his time in office, ushering in a period of intense diplomatic activity that raised hopes Islamabad could facilitate Afghanistan’s stalled peace process with the Taliban.
The two countries must overcome years of mutual hostility, however. Many Afghans accuse Islamabad of effectively controlling the Taliban insurgency against their government. And Kabul doesn’t recognize the British-drawn boundary between the two countries, known as the Durand Line, as an international frontier.
The latest round of fighting, which took place between the Afghan province of Paktika and the Pakistani region of South Waziristan, began after Pakistan began building a new border installation along the Durand Line, according to officials from both countries.
The disagreement escalated into open combat on Tuesday night, with the two sides trading rockets and small-arms fire for several hours. Afghan officials claim a Pakistani watchtower was also hit.
It was unclear who started the fighting.
“Pakistani troops responded and targeted positions from where the fire was coming,” the Pakistani army said on Wednesday, confirming two Pakistani troops were injured.
Pakistani officials said the building work on the Durand Line took place on their side of the border and was legal. Afghan officials, however, said the new installation violated the terms of an agreement between the two countries.
“Based on the agreement we have with Pakistan, neither Pakistan nor Afghanistan can build any installation within a few kilometers of the Durand Line unless both the parties agree to it,” said Seddiq Seddiqi, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s ministry of interior. “We are committed to its terms, but the other side has often violated it.”
While the fighting has stopped, the situation remains tense. “Pakistan has dispatched more troops to the Durand Line and Afghan security forces are on alert,” a senior Afghan official said. The Pakistanis declined to comment beyond giving basic details about the clash and the building work.
On Wednesday, the bazaar in Angoor Ada was closed, and laborers working on a project on the Pakistani side were given a day off, Anwaar Wazir, a shopkeeper from the village, said.
Border tensions peaked in the spring of 2013, when Afghan and Pakistani troops repeatedly exchanged fire in the Goshta district of eastern Nangarhar province in Afghanistan over a contentious outpost built by Pakistan.
One Afghan policeman was killed and several troops on both sides were wounded in that fighting. Afghans staged large protests to condemn the killing of that policeman, who was hailed as a national hero.
The most recent border clash took place in May 2014, after Pakistan began building a trench along the Durand Line near the Afghan district of Maroof, in Kandahar province. Two Afghan soldiers were injured in that incident.
Complete waste of time to improve relations with a government that was setup by an occupier particularly one hostile to Pakistan.
Skirmish over construction of installation on frontier imperils months long effort to improve tense ties
KABUL—Afghan and Pakistani troops traded weapons fire in a deadly overnight border clash on Tuesday, imperiling a months long effort to improve ties between Islamabad and Kabul.
At least one Afghan border police officer was killed and two Pakistani soldiers were injured in the fighting, according to officials from both sides. The clash took place near the village of Angoor Ada, which straddles both sides of the boundary between the two countries.
Afghan and Pakistani troops have exchanged fire across the border before, but it is rare for such clashes to turn deadly.
The violence comes at a delicate time in relations between the neighboring countries. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has made reaching out to Pakistan a priority of his time in office, ushering in a period of intense diplomatic activity that raised hopes Islamabad could facilitate Afghanistan’s stalled peace process with the Taliban.
The two countries must overcome years of mutual hostility, however. Many Afghans accuse Islamabad of effectively controlling the Taliban insurgency against their government. And Kabul doesn’t recognize the British-drawn boundary between the two countries, known as the Durand Line, as an international frontier.
The latest round of fighting, which took place between the Afghan province of Paktika and the Pakistani region of South Waziristan, began after Pakistan began building a new border installation along the Durand Line, according to officials from both countries.
The disagreement escalated into open combat on Tuesday night, with the two sides trading rockets and small-arms fire for several hours. Afghan officials claim a Pakistani watchtower was also hit.
It was unclear who started the fighting.
“Pakistani troops responded and targeted positions from where the fire was coming,” the Pakistani army said on Wednesday, confirming two Pakistani troops were injured.
Pakistani officials said the building work on the Durand Line took place on their side of the border and was legal. Afghan officials, however, said the new installation violated the terms of an agreement between the two countries.
“Based on the agreement we have with Pakistan, neither Pakistan nor Afghanistan can build any installation within a few kilometers of the Durand Line unless both the parties agree to it,” said Seddiq Seddiqi, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s ministry of interior. “We are committed to its terms, but the other side has often violated it.”
While the fighting has stopped, the situation remains tense. “Pakistan has dispatched more troops to the Durand Line and Afghan security forces are on alert,” a senior Afghan official said. The Pakistanis declined to comment beyond giving basic details about the clash and the building work.
On Wednesday, the bazaar in Angoor Ada was closed, and laborers working on a project on the Pakistani side were given a day off, Anwaar Wazir, a shopkeeper from the village, said.
Border tensions peaked in the spring of 2013, when Afghan and Pakistani troops repeatedly exchanged fire in the Goshta district of eastern Nangarhar province in Afghanistan over a contentious outpost built by Pakistan.
One Afghan policeman was killed and several troops on both sides were wounded in that fighting. Afghans staged large protests to condemn the killing of that policeman, who was hailed as a national hero.
The most recent border clash took place in May 2014, after Pakistan began building a trench along the Durand Line near the Afghan district of Maroof, in Kandahar province. Two Afghan soldiers were injured in that incident.
Complete waste of time to improve relations with a government that was setup by an occupier particularly one hostile to Pakistan.
