ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has strongly condemned the grave incident of firing by the Afghan Border Police targeting Frontier Corps (FC) personnel at the Pak-Afghan border.
Earlier in the day, at least nine persons were martyred while more than 40 others injured when the Afghan Border Police opened fire on FC officials deployed for security of Population Census team in Balochistan’s Chaman area.
In a statement issued on Friday following the incident, the prime minister expressed his profound grief and sorrow over the loss of precious human lives injuries caused to the civilian and personnel of Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs).
Terming the incident as most unfortunate, the prime minister said that recurring of such incidents was contrary to their efforts for achieving peace and stability in the region.
The prime minister further said that it was the responsibility of the Afghan government to ensure that such incidents were permanently stopped.
Moreover, he extended his heartfelt condolences and sympathies with the affected families and directed the concerned authorities for treatment of the injured.
Meanwhile at his weekly news briefing in Islamabad, the Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakariya also said that Pakistan had serious concerns over the unprovoked firing by the Afghan forces near the Chaman border.
The Spokesperson pointed out that the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan was clearly demarcated and Pakistani teams were conducting the census drive in its own area which was their sovereign right.
Zakariya asked Afghanistan to immediately stop firing on Pakistani areas, adding that if the Kabul government didn’t stop, Pakistan reserved the right to respond to preserve its sovereignty and protect its civilians.
