Six civilians martyred in ‘unprovoked’ firing by Afghan border forces

CHAMAN: At least six Pakistani civilians embraced martyrdom and 17 other sustained injuries due to ‘unprovoked and indiscriminate’ firing by Afghan border forces in Balochistan’s Chaman district, ARY News reported on Sunday, quoting Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

According to military’s media wing, Afghan Border Forces opened ‘unprovoked and indiscriminate fire’ on civilian population in Balochistan’s Chaman district, resulting in six casualties.

The firing by Afghan forces on the civilian population included heavy weapons including artillery and mortars. The ISPR said that the firing caused the martyrdom of six civilians while 17 other individuals sustained injuries.

“Pakistani border troops have given befitting albeit measured response against the uncalled for aggression, but avoided targeting innocent civilians in the area,” it added.

The ISPR further said that Pakistan has also approached the Afghan authorities in Kabul to highlight severity of the situation and demanded strict action to obviate any such recurrence of the incident in future.

Condemning the incident, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah expressed his concerns over the unprovoked firing by the Afghan forces.

The interior minister requested the Balochistan government to provide full assistance to the affected citizens. He said that details are being gathered regarding the tragic incident, adding that the use of heavy weapons by Afghan forces was concerning.

Earlier in 2020, a soldier of the Frontier Corps was martyred after terrorists opened fire from across the Afghanistan border at a security post in the Manzaikai sector of Balochistan’s Zhob district, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

According to ISPR, a 22-year-old FC soldier named Fakhar Abbas was martyred and the other two soldiers were injured after terrorists opened fire on security forces border post in the Manzaikai sector.