ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Afghan ambassador to Pakistan Dr Omar Zakhilwal alleged that Pakistani forces had crossed the Durand Line into the Afghan area for carrying out the Population Census which eventually led to the Chaman clash.
In a statement issued on his Facebook Page on Tuesday, the Afghan envoy said that during his today’s meeting with Advisor to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz in Islamabad, “I challenged the notion that either the unfortunate Chaman clash between Afghan and Pakistani security forces was provoked by our side or that Pakistan had pushed to solve the dispute through talks but the Afghan side had not cooperated.”
“In fact, to the exact contrary, the Pak forces had crossed the Durand Line into Afghan villages in Spin Boldak area for carrying out a survey,” the Afghan ambassador said.
The envoy maintained that “This was not only a violation of Afghan sovereignty and territorial integrity but also a clear provocation as we had informed Pak Security leadership prior to the incident that carrying out a survey in our villages would be challenged, but that we were ready to talk to resolve this.”
The meeting between the Afghan envoy and Sartaj Aziz took place after the border forces of Pakistan and Afghanistan engaged in an exchange of fire on Friday following the firing of Afghan border police on security personnel guarding a Population Census team in Balochistan’s Chaman area.
The Afghan border forces’ firing resulted in killing of 13 persons including women and children, and injuries to 40 others.
Dr Omar Zakhilwal said that he also informed the adviser that it was not in Chaman alone but also in many other spots across the Durand Line including in Angur Ada, Ghulam Khan, Khwaja Kheder mountains and many other spots where Pakistan security forces had crossed the Durand line and had established security posts on the Afghan side.
“I suggested to the Hon Advisor that our recent London agreement was precisely the mechanism through which such issues could be addressed and resolved before they lead to any unfortunate incidents or further deterioration of our relations,” he said.
The Afghan ambassador said that the Afghan side has continuously conveyed its genuine desire for resolving our issues through constructive talks, engagement and with desire for improved neighbourly relations.
