Afghan forces fire at Torkham again

Two girls among 13 injured; Afghan diplomat summoned to FO to lodge strong protest

LANDIKOTAL: Afghan forces again fired at Pakistani positions at Torkham on Monday when the Pakistanis restarted work on the construction and re-installation of the border gate, sources said.

The Afghans reportedly used mortars to target the Bacha Maina village close to the Pak-Afghan border. However, no casualty was reported.The reinforced Pakistani forces at the border returned fire. The Pakistan Army had earlier sent reinforcements to Torkham backed by tanks and other heavy weapons to deter the Afghan authorities from attacking Pakistan’s border installations. The soldiers were in the lead as they took positions on the border while the paramilitary forces and the Khassadars were holding the second line of defence.

Two girls, a Frontier Corps soldier and some Khassadars were among the 13 Pakistanis who were earlier injured in late Sunday firing by the Afghan forces on the Pakistani security personnel when they were installing a gate at the Torkham border crossing, sources said.

A senior Pakistani official, on condition of anonymity, told The News that the incident took place when Pakistan’s border forces were busy in reinstalling the Torkham border gate that had been removed in 2004 when the Pakistan-funded Torkham-Jalalabad Road was being built.

He said Afghan border officials reacted angrily and exchanged harsh words with the Pakistanis who were busy putting up the steel gate. The Afghan government doesn't recognise the Durand Line as an international border and skirmishes have broken out at Torkham in the past as well whenever Pakistan took steps to strengthen border management. Recently, the Afghan soldiers cocked their guns while threatening Pakistanis doing fencing work inside Pakistani territory at Torkham and Pakistan reacted by closing the border for nearly four days.

The sources said the personnel of the Afghanistan National Army (ANA) and Afghan border police took positions and resorted to unprovoked firing at Pakistani installations Sunday night. They added that various positions near Torkham inside Pakistan and the border village of Bacha Maina were targeted with light and heavy guns.

The sources said the Frontier Crops, Khyber Levies and Khassadar force personnel retaliated to repulse the attack by the Afghan forces. They also targeted the Afghan checkposts and offices on the Afghan side of the Torkham border.

At least 13 persons, including two girls, a Frontier Corps soldier and two Khassadars received bullet injuries. They were rushed to the Agency Headquarters Hospital in Landikotal. Seven of the injured persons were later shifted to hospitals in Peshawar, the hospital sources said.

Those wounded were identified as Khassadar Sepoy Fazal and Sepoy Sartaj, nine-year old Aleena Bibi, eight-year old Nargis Bibi, Majid Khan, Noor Said, Etibar Gul, Hazrat Nabi, Wali Khan, Johar Ali, Shoaib and Shams. The name of the injured Frontier Corps soldier could not be ascertained.

The firing at the border began at 10:00pm Sunday night and continued till Monday morning. An Afghan soldier was reportedly killed in the exchange of fire while five other soldiers injured, sources said.

The political administration imposed curfew in Landikotal subdivision to prevent any untoward incident. The Landikotal and Torkham bazaars remained closed on Monday. Residents in Landikotal were asked to remain at home to avoid harm. Around 2,000 Pakistani families were evacuated from the Bacha Maina village sited at the border with Afghanistan. 

Sources at the Afghan side of the border told this scribe that the Afghan Customs House building, Afghan Commissioner Office and several shops caught fire after being hit by heavy guns fired from the Pakistan side.

Emergency had been declared at the Agency headquarters Hospital and the Combined Military Hospital in Landikotal. Extra contingents of paramilitary troops were deployed at various border localities to repulse any attack from the Afghanistan side, sources added. A large number of Frontier Corps contingents backed by tanks and heavy guns were also moved to take positions alongside the Torkham border, sources said.

The Torkham border remained closed on Monday. More than 2,000 heavy trucks loaded with fresh fruit, vegetables, construction material and other export goods were sent back to Peshawar from Torkham due to closure of the border.

All the roads leading towards Torkham were blocked and paramilitary forces were seen patrolling the road between Landikotal and Torkham. Meanwhile, Pakistan lodged a strong protest with Afghanistan over the unprovoked firing by the Afghan forces at Pakistani forces at the Torkham border crossing.

A statement from the Foreign Office said the Afghan Charge d Affaires was called to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and asked that the incident be thoroughly investigated and the findings be shared with Pakistani authorities. It was further emphasised that all steps should be taken for avoiding recurrence of such incidents in future, the statement said.

The Afghan Charge d Affaires was told that the firing incident was contrary to the spirit of friendly relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Foreign Office said the firing was aimed at disrupting the construction of a gate well inside Pakistani territory at the border designed to facilitate cross border movement of people and vehicles.

It was conveyed to the Afghan side that the regulation of movement at Torkham was part of government’s policy to strengthen border management. The Foreign Office said the Afghan government’s cooperation was needed to enhance mutual security and help combat the threat of terrorism.