Afghan-Pakistan border troops clash
Simmering tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan flared up again along their border on Saturday with their troops exchanging heavy artillery fire.
Afghan officials said that a heavy exchange of fire took place along the border in Yagoobi Kandaw village of Lalapur district after Pakistani troops tried to encroach Afghan territory.
“There was an exchange of heavy fire for 45 minutes, both sides used artillery,” Haji Abd al-Zahir Qadir, an Afghan commander said.
Clashes between Afghan and Pakistani forces have been erupting intermittently in the recent weeks, with Afghanistan accusing Pakistani forces of intruding in Afghan territory.
Pakistan denies the charge.
A Pakistani intelligence official in the border town of Peshawar has confirmed there had been a clash, but said the two sides had used only AK-47 rifles.
Both the Afghan commander and the Pakistani official said there had been no casualties in the exchange.
Rising Tensions
The rising border tension between the two neighbours had resulted in an ugly fracas on Tuesday, when an irate Afghan mob attacked and ransacked the Pakistani embassy in Kabul.
Pakistan had responded to the attack angrily, shutting down the embassy temporarily.
Afghanistan’s interim leader, Hamid Karzai, condemned the attack and apologised to Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf.
But relations between the two countries remain frosty at best.
Pakistan accuses Afghan security forces of not trying to stop the mob from pillaging its embassy.