A child was among the two Pakistani civilians who embraced martyrdom on Tuesday following an “unprovoked and indiscriminate” firing by Afghan security forces at the Chaman border, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in a news statement.
According to the ISPR, “on 4th October 2023, at 1600 hours, an Afghan sentry employed at Friend Ship Gate of Chaman Border Crossing along Pakistan-Afghanistan Border in Balochistan Province, opened unprovoked and indiscriminate firing at pedestrians moving from Pakistan to Afghanistan.”
It said the incident occurred at the outbound gate located on the zero line. Resultantly, two innocent Pakistani citizens including a 12 years old child embraced shahadat, while another child was injured.
The ISPR said troops of the Pakistani security forces exercised “extreme restraint” and avoided any exchange of fire in presence of innocent passengers to avoid collateral damage.
“Dead bodies of the deceased have been shifted to DHQ Hospital Chaman and the injured child, who was immediately evacuated by security forces, is under treatment,” it added.
Afghan authorities were approached to inquire the reason of such “irresponsible and reckless act” and it was demanded to apprehend and hand over the culprit to Pakistani authorities.
The Afghan Government was also expected to exercise control over its troops and impart discipline to act responsibly in order to avoid recurrence of such incidents in future, the ISPR said.
“Pakistan remains committed to contribute towards peace, prosperity and development through positive and constructive bilateral relations, however such unpleasant occurrences have the potential to harm the sincere intent and purpose,” it remarked.
The latest development occurred just a day after Pakistan issued a directive to hundreds of thousands of Afghan nationals residing illegally within its borders, urging them to depart voluntarily by November 1 or face deportation. This decision coincides with Pakistan’s efforts to address an upsurge in attacks, which the government attributes to militants operating from Afghanistan.
Interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti has already revealed that approximately 1.7 million Afghans were residing illegally in Pakistan.
