Reacting against the deadly Sunday clash between the Taliban and Pakistani border forces at Spinboldak-Chaman border crossing, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that the Taliban should ensure rocket fire and cross-border shelling into Pakistan are not repeated.
In a tweet on Monday, December 12, Pakistan’s PM said that “unprovoked shelling and fire by Afghan Border Forces resulting in martyrdom of several Pakistani citizens and injuring more than a dozen is unfortunate & deserves the strongest condemnation.”
“The Afghan Interim government should ensure that such incidents are not repeated,” he added, referring to the Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
At least five people, including Pakistani forces, were killed and 15 others wounded in Chaman in a clash between the Afghan Taliban and Pakistani border forces on Sunday, sources confirmed to Kabul Now. One Taliban fighter was dead and 10 people were wounded on Afghanistan’s side of the border.
Meanwhile, the Express Tribune reported that six civilians were killed and 30 people were injured in Chaman as a result of the Taliban rocket fire.
The Pakistani newspaper also reported that the major border crossing between the two neighboring countries has been closed.
Local Taliban authorities said that the clash has ended between the two sides.
The hours-long clash erupted on Sunday afternoon, December 11, when the Taliban forces started building a new outpost near the Durand Line – a controversial borderline separating Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Video footage attributed to the clash circulated on social media. The video which was purportedly recorded in Chaman shows an individual fallen blood-soaked on the ground. A man, caught in the video, says that the two sides have opened fire on civilians during the clash.
Moreover, video footage of those killed and wounded in Chaman suggests that children are also among the victims.
Haji Zaid, spokesperson for Taliban governor in the southern Kandahar province, confirmed that 10 people, including three civilians, were wounded in Afghanistan soil and one Taliban fighter was killed.
The Taliban and Pakistani forces clashed in the same area last month which resulted in the closure of the major Spinboldak-Chaman border crossing for a week.
