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2020-08-01 Afghanistan
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Pakistan Denies Firing First in Spin Boldak Clash That Killed 9-15, Injured 50-100
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[ToloNews] Pakistain’s foreign ministry in a statement on Friday blamed the Afghan cops for starting a clash on Thursday night at the Spin Boldak crossing in Kandahar that left at least 15 Afghan civilians dead and 80 more maimed.
In the statement, Pakistain's foreign ministry claimed that the Pakistain Forces "did not open fire first and responded in self-defense only."
Afghan officials and eyewitnesses have insisted that Pak forces fired first.
Continued from Page 1
A source on Thursday said that Afghan travelers on the Pakistain side of the Chaman crossing in Spin Boldak who were trying to enter Afghanistan were turned away by Pak forces, but the Afghans persisted in trying to get through and were fired on by the Pak forces, after which Afghan forces on the other side got involved and fired on the Pak forces. In retaliation, the Paks fired shells into the Afghanistan territory, hitting Afghan homes.
But Pakistain's foreign ministry said on Friday that Afghan forces "opened unprovoked fire on innocent civilians gathered towards Pakistain" and then "Pakistain troops deployed on the posts were also simultaneously engaged by Afghan posts. Pakistain troops responded to protect our local population and acted only in self-defense. It is reiterated that Pakistain Force did not open fire first and responded in self-defense only," the Pak statement said.
"To de-escalate the situation, the Pakistain side immediately activated both military and diplomatic channels and it was after hectic efforts that the firing was stopped from Afghan side," the statement said.
But the Kandahar Police Chief Gen. Tadeen Khan said the firing in Spin Boldak district was started by the Pak forces, after which Afghan forces responded. "The clash started and then the center ordered (us) to stop firing... Then they (Pak forces) started shelling mortars on people’s houses."
The Pak statement also said: "The borders with Afghanistan were opened for pedestrian movement and trade" and people gathering for Eid were "deliberately targeted by Afghan forces for incomprehensible reasons."
Pakistain's foreign ministry claimed that the "unfortunate incident resulted in numerous casualties and deliberate/serious damage to state infrastructure," and it acknowledged the casualties on the Afghan side: "There were, reportedly, unfortunate losses on the Afghan side as well. All this could have been avoided if fire had not been initiated from the Afghan side."
"Pakistain reiterates its sincere readiness to further enhance fraternal relations with Afghanistan in the interest of peace and stability in the region. We hope our constructive efforts will be reciprocated," concluded the statement.
But the Pak shelling on Afghan residential areas has reportedly caused over a dozen deaths and maimed nearly 100, according to local officials.
Bahir Ahmadi, the front man for Kandahar's governor, said that 15 people were killed in an attack by Pak forces on Spin Boldak, adding that women and kiddies are among the victims. "At least 80 others have been maimed," he added.
The Afghan Ministry of Defense said at least nine non-combatants were killed and 50 others were maimed in the Pak forces artillery attacks on "residential areas" in Spin Boldak district during the incident.
The Afghan Army’s Chief of Staff Gen. Yasin Zia directed all Army corps, including Atal 205, Selab 201 and Thunder 203 to get ready for similar actions against Pak forces and to equip Afghan troops who are stationed along the Durand Line, the statement said.
The Afghan Air Force and the special forces were ordered to stay alert for similar actions against Pak forces, the statement added.
The National Security Council in a statement said the Afghan government will follow the issue through relevant channels and will make the required action.
Hospital officials in Pakistain told Rooters three bodies and 20 people suffering bullet wounds had been brought after the festivities between protesters and security forces.
They exchanged fire when crowds waiting to cross into Afghanistan became unruly and attacked Pak installations, a Pak official said.
The crossing, mostly closed to pedestrians during the COVID-19 pandemic, was briefly opened on Wednesday and was to open again Thursday to allow nationals of both countries to cross for Eid, which falls on Friday in Afghanistan and Saturday in Pakistain.
When it did not open, a large crowd gathered to protest, and a quarantine centre and a Pak government facility for processing movement at the crossing were burned down, a Pak official at the border told Rooters.
The deadly exchanges have increased since Pakistain in 2017 began raising a fence along its 2,500-kilometer (1,500-mile) border with Afghanistan known as the Durand Line. Pakistain considers the colonial-era division created in 1893 as an international border, while Afghanistan has never recognized the boundary.
Both Pakistain and Afghanistan accuse the other of harboring its enemies, saying holy warrior groups stage attacks in one country, then cross the mostly non-existent border and seek sanctuary on the other side. Islamabad says it needs the fence to block Death Eaters from crossing.
Pakistain has been widely accused by Kabul and the United States of providing safe haven to the Taliban
...Arabic for students ...
, an accusation that Islamabad denies. For its part, Islamabad says Pak bully boyz _ such as the Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
Liberation Army, which in June attacked the stock exchange building in the southern port city of Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
_ are hiding in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province.
Islamabad also claims the Pak Taliban _ known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain, or TTP, a separate group from the Afghan Taliban _ are hiding in Afghanistan.
A UN report earlier this month said up to 6,500 Pak holy warriors, most of them belonging to the TTP, are hiding in Afghanistan, with links to the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group, which is based in Afghanistan's eastern Nangarhar
The unfortunate Afghan province located adjacent to Mohmand, Kurram, and Khyber Agencies. The capital is Jalalabad. The province was the fief of Younus Khalis after the Soviets departed and one of his sons is the current provincial Taliban commander. Nangarhar is Haqqani country..
province and is a threat to both Pakistain and Afghanistan.
The Afghan Defense Ministry said rockets fired by Pakistain pummeled Spinboldak late on Thursday, inflicting the casualties and drawing retaliatory fire from Afghan cops.
Pakistain's foreign ministry said Friday that Afghan forces opened ``unprovoked fire on innocent civilians`` and also Pak troops at the border posts. It said Pak troops responded and ``acted only in self-defense.`` The situation was later defused through military and diplomatic channels, Pakistain said.
Earlier on Thursday, Pak troops had been deployed to the Chaman border crossing, opposite Spinboldak, to contain hundreds of ethnic Pashtun demonstrators protesting the closure of the border because of the coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)
 ...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
pandemic. Three protesters were killed when troops opened fire after the rally deteriorated.
Many Pashtuns living in Pakistain work in Afghanistan as daily laborers, crossing the border for work and returning home at night. Since the closing of the Chaman crossing, they have not been able to go there to work. The border has since reopened for trade only. 
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Posted by trailing wife 2020-08-01 00:00||
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