Pakistan summons Afghan envoy over border post firing

Pakistan on Thursday summoned Afghan Chargé d’affaires and lodged protest over unprovoked firing on a border check post, the Foreign Ministry said.

The Foreign Ministry said that two soldiers were injured in firing by Afghan troops late Wednesday.

“The Afghan Charge d’ Affaires was summoned to the Foreign Office today for conveying protest of the Government of Pakistan on an unprovoked firing incident that took place on May 1, 2013 at 2145 hours from the Afghan posts on the Pakistani Gursal post,” a Foreign Ministry statement said.

Two Frontier Constabulary (FC) soldiers got injured as a result of the heavy fire directly targeting the post, it said.

“Pakistan security forces exercised maximum restraint and communicated first to the Afghan side about this serious violation through military channels,” the statement said.

It added that the Afghan diplomat was conveyed serious concern over this violation.

The statement said that s is not the first time that the heavy fire was initiated from the Afghan side causing heavy injury and damage to the Pakistani structures.

Afghan diplomat was asked to convey Pakistan’s concern to the authorities in Afghanistan to timely share information with Pakistan military as per agreed procedure and avoid repeated violations which grossly undermine the existing coordination mechanisms between the security forces of the two countries.

“Pakistan believes that such incidents are vitiating the friendly relations and creating avoidable tension between the two brotherly countries,” it went on to say.

On the other hand Afghan officials say that Pakistani side started firing and killed an Afghan soldier and injured three others in Goshti district in Ningarhar province.

Afghan media quoted unnamed officials as claiming that the Afghan troops had “destroyed constructions by Pakistani forces”.