- An explanation has been sought from Kabul on such “irresponsible acts”.
- Islamabad asked Kabul to hand over the culprits involved in the incident.
- A child is also among the dead and another minor has been injured.
RAWALPINDI: Afghan security forces on Wednesday opened “unprovoked and indiscriminate” fire on pedestrians crossing the Chaman border and martyred two Pakistani civilians, including a child, the army’s media wing said.
In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said the unfortunate incident occurred at the cross-border Friend Ship Gate on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Balochistan at 4 pm.
“The incident occurred at the outbound gate located on the Zero Line,” the statement said, adding that two Pakistani nationals – including a 12-year-old child – were martyred, while another child was injured. Went.
In response, Pakistani troops exercised utmost restraint and refrained from firing in the presence of innocent passengers to avoid accidental damage, the ISPR statement said.
The Chaman border has been repeatedly closed and then opened after such extreme measures by Afghan forces in the past few years, while the Pakistani side insisted on restraint.
In today’s statement, ISPR said Islamabad has contacted Kabul authorities to find out the reason behind such an irresponsible and reckless act and to arrest the culprit and hand him over to Pakistani authorities.
The army said the Afghan government is also expected to exercise control over its troops and provide discipline to act responsibly to avoid recurrence of such incidents in the future.
“Pakistan is committed to [contributing] Towards peace, prosperity and development through positive and constructive bilateral relations, however, such untoward incidents have the potential to harm honest intentions and objectives.”
Meanwhile, the bodies of the deceased have been shifted to DHQ Hospital Chaman, and the injured child was immediately evacuated by the security forces, who is undergoing treatment.
The development comes a day after Pakistan asked thousands of Afghans living illegally there to leave voluntarily by November 1 or face deportation.
This order has come when Pakistan is facing increasing attacks and the government is blaming it on terrorists operating from Afghanistan.
Interim Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said that 17 lakh Afghans are in Pakistan illegally.
