New Delhi : On the 12th of December 2022, the Afghan Taliban carried out a series of unprovoked firings and shelling with various heavy weapons in the Baluchistan Province near the Chaman Border.
The firing in Chaman, the main border crossing for trade between the two countries, follows a series of deadly incidents and attacks that have skyrocketed tensions between Islamabad and Afghanistan.
According to the media wing of the Pakistan Army, seven people were killed, and sixteen others were wounded in the fracas. The main reason behind this incident is the ongoing contentious border dispute between Pakistan and Afghanistan. They have described the incident as “uncalled-for aggression”, and the Army has given a befitting reply and “measured response” and avoided targeting civilians.
Shahbaz Sharif, the incumbent Prime minister of Pakistan, has condemned this incident harshly. He also tweeted that no such incident must occur again in the future.
The Pakistani Foreign Office has called on their counterparts in Kabul to understand the gravity and severity of the situation and take strict action as soon as possible.
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Afghanistan share a 2,600 km border. Chaman remains a busy border trading area for Pakistan and Afghanistan and has also been a flashpoint for clashes between border forces on both sides.
The Chaman border crossing, also known as Friendship Gate, connects Balochistan province to Afghanistan’s Kandahar. It was closed last month after an armed Afghan crossed onto Pakistan’s border and opened fire on security troops, killing a soldier and injuring another two.
Islamabad has completed almost 90% of the fencing work along the border despite protests from Kabul, who contested the century-old British-era boundary demarcation that splits families on either side.
Successive regimes in Afghanistan, including the U.S.-backed governments in the past, have disputed the border, and this has historically remained a contentious issue between the two neighbours.
