ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan blamed each other for the recent skirmishes that led to the closure of the volatile border town of Torkham — the busiest trade crossing between the two countries — in the Khyber tribal district, on the disputed Durand Line.
The Torkham border crossing — a key point of transit for travellers and goods between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan — remained shut for a sixth consecutive day on Monday. It has been sealed several times in recent years, including last month when thousands of people and goods were stranded on both sides of the border for days.
Responding to Kabul over its statement on the border closure, Pakistan blamed the Taliban authorities for the construction of a new structure on Pakistani territory. A day earlier, Kabul had accused Pakistani security forces of opening fire at Afghan Taliban forces fixing an old security outpost near the border.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan deems the closure of Torkham gate and opening of fire on Afghan security forces by the Pakistani side contrary to good neighbourliness,” said the interim foreign affairs ministry of the Taliban administration.
Pakistan responded saying the interim Afghan authorities knew well the reasons for the temporary closure of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border at Torkham. Foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan cannot accept the construction of any structures by the interim Afghan government inside its territory since these violate its sovereignty.
The spokesperson said that on September 6, instead of a peaceful resolution, Afghan troops resorted to indiscriminate firing, targeting Pakistan’s military posts, damaging infrastructure at the Torkham border terminal, and putting the lives of both Pakistani and Afghan civilians at risk, when they were stopped from erecting such unlawful structures.
“Such unprovoked and indiscriminate firing on Pakistani border posts cannot be justified under any circumstances,” Baloch said, adding that unprovoked firing by Afghan border security forces invariably emboldened terrorist elements.
Islamabad’s allegations that the Afghan Taliban are not doing enough to prevent anti-Pakistan insurgents from using Afghan soil for cross-border terrorist attacks have strained bilateral relations in recent months. The latest such attack, according to the Pakistan Army, occurred last week when a large group of heavily armed militants stormed two security outposts in the northern Kalash valley in Chitral district, adjacent to Afghanistan’s Nuristan province.
“These elements are enjoying sanctuaries inside Afghanistan, as confirmed by the UN Security Council’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team in its latest report,” Baloch said.
“We expect the Afghan interim authorities to be mindful of Pakistan’s concerns, respect the territorial integrity of Pakistan and ensure that Afghan territory is not used as a launching pad for terrorist attacks against Pakistan,” she added.
The Torkham border crossing — a key point of transit for travellers and goods between Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan — remained shut for a sixth consecutive day on Monday. It has been sealed several times in recent years, including last month when thousands of people and goods were stranded on both sides of the border for days.
Responding to Kabul over its statement on the border closure, Pakistan blamed the Taliban authorities for the construction of a new structure on Pakistani territory. A day earlier, Kabul had accused Pakistani security forces of opening fire at Afghan Taliban forces fixing an old security outpost near the border.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan deems the closure of Torkham gate and opening of fire on Afghan security forces by the Pakistani side contrary to good neighbourliness,” said the interim foreign affairs ministry of the Taliban administration.
Pakistan responded saying the interim Afghan authorities knew well the reasons for the temporary closure of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border at Torkham. Foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan cannot accept the construction of any structures by the interim Afghan government inside its territory since these violate its sovereignty.
The spokesperson said that on September 6, instead of a peaceful resolution, Afghan troops resorted to indiscriminate firing, targeting Pakistan’s military posts, damaging infrastructure at the Torkham border terminal, and putting the lives of both Pakistani and Afghan civilians at risk, when they were stopped from erecting such unlawful structures.
“Such unprovoked and indiscriminate firing on Pakistani border posts cannot be justified under any circumstances,” Baloch said, adding that unprovoked firing by Afghan border security forces invariably emboldened terrorist elements.
Islamabad’s allegations that the Afghan Taliban are not doing enough to prevent anti-Pakistan insurgents from using Afghan soil for cross-border terrorist attacks have strained bilateral relations in recent months. The latest such attack, according to the Pakistan Army, occurred last week when a large group of heavily armed militants stormed two security outposts in the northern Kalash valley in Chitral district, adjacent to Afghanistan’s Nuristan province.
“These elements are enjoying sanctuaries inside Afghanistan, as confirmed by the UN Security Council’s Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team in its latest report,” Baloch said.
“We expect the Afghan interim authorities to be mindful of Pakistan’s concerns, respect the territorial integrity of Pakistan and ensure that Afghan territory is not used as a launching pad for terrorist attacks against Pakistan,” she added.
