2,000 families affected by violent border clash at Chaman, says disaster management authority
Unprovoked firing by Afghan border forces on Friday affected more than 2,000 families living near the Pak-Afghan border in Chaman, the director general of Balochistan's provincial disaster management authority (PDMA), Muhammad Tariq, said while addressing a press conference on Saturday.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) Chaman Qaisar Khan said residents of villages located at the border had been instructed to evacuate.
"Announcements in mosques have been made and pamphlets have been distributed in this regard," the DC said.
19 PDMA trucks carrying relief goods had reached Chaman to ensure the provision of basic commodities, tents and blankets to the affected families, the DG PDMA said.
Relief goods worth Rs40 million were dispatched to the Pak-Afghan border at Chaman, he said.
"We can assure timely support to our brothers in this hour of trouble", the DG PDMA said.
He said the district administration had also been directed to assess the damages resulting from the firing by Afghan forces.
Mud-walled houses in particular had been severely damaged in Killi Luqman and Killi Jehangir when Afghan forces attacked FC personnel guarding census staff.
At least 12 people, including two Frontier Corps personnel, five children and three women were killed in the hostilities, which started in the early hours of Friday.