6 soldiers, 5 civilians injured as Afghan forces target civilian population along Pak-Afghan border in Chitral

Published October 29, 2019
A Pakistani soldier keeps vigil next to a newly fenced border fencing along with Afghan's Paktika province border in Angoor Adda in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal agency on October 18, 2017. — AFP
A Pakistani soldier keeps vigil next to a newly fenced border fencing along with Afghan's Paktika province border in Angoor Adda in Pakistan's South Waziristan tribal agency on October 18, 2017. — AFP

Six soldiers and five civilians were injured during an exchange of fire at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border between security forces of both sides, a statement by the military's media wing said on Tuesday.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Afghan security forces fired mortars and heavy machine guns from Nari district in the Kunar province "targeting civilian population" in Chitral's Arundu village.

"Pakistan troops responded effectively and targeted Afghan border posts Kandi and Dilbar from where fire was being initiated," said the statement.

As a result, "substantial damage" was dealt to the Afghan border posts. The exchange of fire was stopped "after engagement at military level".

In late September, a major and a sepoy of the Pakistan Army were martyred in an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Mohmand tribal district.

Earlier that month, four soldiers of the Army were martyred and one other was injured in two separate incidents of firing by militants near the Afghan border.

Following the attacks, the Foreign Office had summoned the Afghan Charge d’ Affairs to lodge a formal protest against the firing incidents.

Pakistan has already fenced an over 900-kilometre-long portion of the Afghan border in an attempt to prevent movement of miscreants and terrorists between the two countries.

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