Key Pak-Afghan crossing to remain closed: Pakistan

By Aamir Latif and Shadi Khan Saif

KARACHI, Pakistan/KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - Pakistan on Sunday said a key southwestern crossing with Afghanistan would remain closed till a "change" in Kabul’s attitude as the border stand-off between the two neighbors that claimed over a dozen lives from both sides entered its third day on Sunday.

Lt. Gen, Aamir Riaz, commander of Pakistan Army's southern command, told reporters in Chaman --bordering southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan-- that Friday’s deadly clash left 50 Afghan soldiers dead, and scores injured in addition to destruction of five checkposts.

The Afghan forces, he alleged, had targeted the civilian population, whereas Pakistan army in retaliation, hit the security forces only.

"The government was trying to mend the situation, however the Chaman crossing will remain closed till further orders unless Kabul changes its attitude," Lt. Gen. Riaz added.

Earlier, Major Gen. Nadeem Anjum, head of the paramilitary border force -Frontier Corps- said Pakistan was not happy over the losses of Afghan security forces as "They are our Muslim brothers”.

Pakistan on Friday closed the Chaman crossing after accusing the Afghan forces of targeting its troops and civilians, and killing 12 and injuring over 40.

According to the Pakistan army, the Afghan border police fired at troops who were providing security to the census staff in Chaman town. Kabul denied the charge, and accused Pakistan of initiating the clash.

In a statement issued Sunday, the Afghan presidency's Media Relation and Coordination Office called the claim "regretful".

"As a result of unprovoked firing of Pakistani militias on May 5 and 6 in Chaman and Torkham [main crossing points between Pakistan and Afghanistan] two Afghan security forces and two civilians were martyred, and over 30 civilians wounded.

"In addition, the shelling by Pak militias caused displacement of thousands of villagers along the Durand line and four civilian vehicles were torched," the statement read.

Meanwhile, the Meshrano Jirga (upper house) of the parliament on Sunday called upon the Kabul government to consult the U.N. against Pakistan’s alleged provocations and shelling.

- Flag meeting

The military commanders of the two sides held a flag meeting on Sunday at the Chaman border in an attempt to quell the mounting tensions.

The two sides, according to local broadcaster Geo TV, agreed to conduct a geological survey to identify the exact location of the two disputed bordering villages which Afghanistan claims in full.

The Luqman and Nazar villages lie between Kandahar’s Spin Boldak and Pakistan’s Chaman districts, where the conflict erupted on Friday when the Pakistani forces wished to conduct a population census.

Already tense ties between the two neighbors have hit a low ebb in recent months following the terrorist attacks in Pakistan and Afghanistan for which the two sides blame each other.

On Feb. 17, Pakistan unilaterally closed its border with Afghanistan, commonly known as the Durand Line, "due to security reasons" following a spate of terror attacks, including a suicide bombing at a Sufi shrine in southern Pakistani town of Sehwan that left 90 people dead. The border was reopened in March.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share 18 crossing points. The most commonly used ones are Torkham and Chaman.

Afghanistan does not recognize the Durand Line -- a 2,640-kilometer (1,640-mile) long border, which was established in 1893 in line with an agreement between India under British colonial rule, and Abdur Rahman Khan, the then-ruler of Afghanistan. But, it rather sees it as an annexation of the ‘Greater Afghanistan’ by the British Raj before Pakistan and India came into being in 1947.