Pakistani civilians killed at a border crossing into Afghanistan

Six Pakistani civilians were killed and at least 17 wounded in an attack on a busy border post between Pakistan and Afghanistan. According to Pakistan, the Taliban regime forces suddenly attacked the Chaman border crossing with mortars and gunfire.

Pakistani soldiers returned fire, killing an Afghan soldier and wounding ten. The Pakistani army condemned the attack. Prime Minister Sharif also condemned the attack.

Pictures from the border crossing show injured people, wreckage of burnt cars, and damaged roads. The explosion of the mortar shells spread large fireballs, according to eyewitnesses, injuring people and setting cars on fire. The shelling on both sides is said to have continued for two hours.

The border post was closed after the attack, but later reopened after delegates from both sides of the border met. It is one of the biggest shifts between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Thousands of people cross the border every day and it is also an important border crossing for the transportation of goods.

Afghan security forces told Reuters that Pakistan had asked the Afghan border forces to stop building a checkpoint on its side of the border. Afghan government sources told AFP that tensions escalated when Afghan soldiers tried to cut a section of the border fence.

This wall has been a point of discussion between the two countries for years. Pakistan has been building a barrier between the two countries since 2017. The current Taliban regime, as well as the previous Afghan governments, oppose this.

This is not the first incident this year. In November, a Pakistani customs officer was shot dead, after which the border was closed for eight days. As a result, thousands of people are stranded on both sides of the border.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry says that such incidents are not consistent with the “brotherly relations” between the two countries and called on Islamabad, the Kabul regime, to prevent their recurrence.

Two weeks ago, the Pakistani embassy in the Afghan capital, Kabul, came under fire from a nearby building. The ambassador, who had just entered the building, was not injured, but a bodyguard was. Islamabad spoke about the assassination attempt on its most important diplomat.

The Taliban regime announced that a member of the Islamic State had been arrested for this. According to the regional ISIS group known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, the “dissident” ambassador was shot by two men. There was nothing in the statement as to why.